Seven Kisses
by Higuchimon
Summary: Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another, from when they first begin to date, to the start of a new life forged between the two of them.
1. Case of Nerves

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Power Rangers Zeo/Turbo/Dino Thunder  
><strong>Title:<strong> Seven Kisses: Chapter 1: Case of Nerves  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Kat x Tommy  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> chapter: 8,915||story: 8,915  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance, Adventure||**Rated:** PG-13  
><strong>Challenge:<strong> 7snogs: Kat x Tommy: Double Night Challenge: prompt #1, anxiety  
><strong>Notes:<strong> This takes place after **Good as Gold** but before the Turbo movie. Kat and Tommy have been dating for about a month.  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another. Kiss #1: Kat and Tommy's visit to an exhibit about Australia gives Rita one very nasty idea.

* * *

><p>Tommy tugged down the bottom of his shirt with one hand and ran one finger of his other around his collar. He didn't think there was a reason to be nervous, but he was anyway. This was only his fourth date with Kat in the last month. Nothing bad had happened on any of the other three.<p>

Maybe that was the problem. After what happened at Ernie's luau, some part of him kept expecting the Machine Empire or Rita and Zedd to turn up at any date they had and start throwing Cogs or Tengas, and whatever latest monster they had at the two of them.

He leaned back in the seat of his truck and tried to calm down. Kat had probably seen him from her bedroom window already, but he still wanted to knock and say hi to her parents before they headed off.

_Face it, Oliver. You're scared about her dumping you._ It wasn't something he enjoyed thinking about, but it crossed his mind now and then. He supposed it wasn't that unusual. Every relationship had weak spots, right?

Well, sitting in his truck musing about them wasn't going to make those weak spots any stronger. Not when Kat was probably wondering what he was doing sitting out here anyway instead of coming up to the door.

He shoved himself out of the truck and headed up the graveled path, putting all of those annoying issues behind him for the moment. He had fun going out with Kat. He had no intentions of letting anything ruin it, especially himself.

As he'd done other times, he tapped on the white-painted door. Kat really must have been waiting for him, since the echo had barely died before the door swung open and she stood there.

"Hey, Kat." He smiled; as always, she seemed to give off a warm glow of life and light the moment that he looked at her. Blonde hair perfectly brushed out, warm blue eyes that softened the moment she looked at him, that smile that sent his heart thudding against his rib cage…

"Hi, Tommy." She glanced over her shoulder and he followed her gaze to see her parents standing at the end of the hallway behind her.

"Hello, Mr. Hillard, Mrs. Hillard," he politely nodded as he had on those other times he'd come to pick her up. "Hope you have a good evening."

"I'm sure we will." Kat smiled reassuringly as she stepped outside, Tommy moving back to give her more room. "I'll be home later."

Tommy headed back down the stairs and over to the truck, Kat right next to him.

"They like you, you know." Kat said as she moved around to the passenger side. "They told me at lunch."

He wasn't blushing. He was Tommy Oliver, Red Ranger, leader of the Power Rangers, he did not blush just because his girlfriend's parents liked him! It was just…the weather. The evening was warm, after all. It was May. It was expected.

"I like them too." Tommy hoped that she couldn't see him enough to even think he might be blushing – which he wasn't – as he got behind the wheel.

He glanced over at her before he fumbled for his keys, meeting those eyes of hers. He wanted to say something else, but words eluded him. He wasn't even sure of what it was he wanted to say in the first place.

Kat looked back at him, one eyebrow tilted up and her head to the side a fraction. He swallowed, shook his head a tiny fraction, and got his key into the ignition. Maybe if he drove he could shake off some of this annoyance and figure out what it was he wanted to say.

"Tommy, is something wrong?" Kat's hand brushed against his, and he caught his breath at the feel of her smooth skin.

"No." He shook his head, not actually sure if he were lying or not. He didn't think he was. It wasn't wrong. He just hadn't made up his mind on if it were right or not. "I think I'm just having an off night or something."

Kat frowned at that. "We don't have to go anywhere if you don't feel up to it."

"No, I want to go." Tommy refused to let his own insecurities ruin tonight. "That exhibit's not going to be there forever, is it?"

"Probably not, but if you're not up to it…"

He shook his head once again and reached out to take her hand in his for a few moments. "I am. Trust me, Kat." He found a smile on his lips and spared a quick moment from driving to look at her.

As much as he would've liked to, he couldn't hold her hand and smile at her forever. He had to return his attention to the road and getting them to the museum in one piece.

Though neither of them spoke again as the road unrolled by them, the silence wasn't an entirely awkward one. A sort of expectancy hung in the air, one that grew and grew until Tommy finally rolled into the museum driveway and found a place to park.

"Kat…" He turned to her, reaching for her hand again, wanting to feel her warmth so close to him. "I just…really like you. I like spending time with you." The words sounded so clunky and awkward to his ears but he kept on anyway. "I just…I worry."

Her hand folded warmly over his and she smiled at him, warming that little cold place inside of himself. "I understand."

He thought she did. Reassured, at least for the moment, he slipped out of the truck and turned to the museum itself. A large sign on the front lawn proclaimed to reveal all the hidden wonders, mysteries, and terrors of Australia, with emphasis on the myriad of ways that almost everything there could kill someone if they weren't careful and sometimes even if they were.

"Is Australia really that dangerous?" Tommy wondered as Kat came around to join him. He'd been there, but not only had they not spent that much time there thanks to Rita and Zedd's marriage, but the school trip had been very carefully controlled so they didn't get into any trouble whatsoever, much less seeing anything that would've been dangerous.

Kat shrugged. "I didn't think it was." A hint of a smile tilted her lips upward. "But I grew up there, so I might not be the best person to ask."

He couldn't help but laugh at that, then headed up the steps with Kat. He'd been looking forward to checking this exhibit out for weeks now, and doing it with her just made it even better.

There were a few other people strolling through the corridors, pointing and staring at the various pictures, statues, and plaques of information about all the different kinds of wildlife one could find in the faraway land. So far as Tommy could tell, they were all ordinary people, not a hidden Cog, Tenga, or Putty among them. Checking out one's surroundings for potential attackers was just part of what it meant to be a Power Ranger.

"I usually think about koalas or kangaroos when I think about Australia," he admitted as they walked past a display of rare trees indigenous only to that part of the world. He wasn't entirely certain that he believed a eucalyptus tree could explode, but he'd seen stranger things going on. "You know, things that aren't dangerous."

Kat laughed and shook her head. "Koalas are dangerous if they hug you. And you really don't want a kangaroo to kick you."

Tommy gave her a long look. "Is there anything in Australia that isn't dangerous?"

She didn't answer right away, thinking the question over. "I think breathing is still safe. Or it was when I moved, anyway."

"No wonder you're such a great Ranger." Tommy rested one hand on her shoulder for a few seconds. "You're used to things trying to kill you."

"Something like that." A light flush crept up her cheeks and she ducked her head.

They moved onward, Kat pointing out some of the places pictured that she knew from her childhood. Tommy paid strict attention; he'd enjoyed their vacation there, but there was a special thrill to hearing about it from someone who saw all of this as a normal part of her life.

The later it grew, the better he liked it; they hadn't had a monster attack in almost two days, and none of their opponents attacked after sunset. He'd never really wondered as to why. They needed to sleep too, he guessed. But the closer it came to the end of the day, the easier he relaxed and didn't worry about his communicator going off. Which meant they could both really enjoy their date.

* * *

><p>"Zedd!" Rita snapped her husband's name out as she stomped the butt of her staff on the dusty floor of the lunar palace. "I want a new monster!"<p>

Zedd barely looked up from where he sat on his throne reading the latest update on the doings of evil beings throughout the universe. He wanted to see if their return to power and defeat of the Machine Empire had been written up yet. So far, he hadn't seen anything about it. Lousy reporters.

_Dark Spectre's up to something._ The so-called Monarch of all evil didn't impress Zedd very much. Or at least Zedd wanted to think he didn't. It wasn't impossible that Dark Spectre could squash him out of existence with little more than a wave of one finger. For centuries there had been an unstated understanding between his empire and Dark Spectre's, which amounted to 'you leave us alone and we'll leave you alone'.

_This would work out better if I could just get rid of those Rangers._ If he did that, then his reputation would be fully restored and Dark Spectre could go back to lurking in other parts of the universe and leave him be.

"Zedd!" Rita squawked again, this time kicking him in the leg. "Did you hear me? I said I wanted a monster!"

Zedd glared up at her; he hated losing his place when he was reading. "So make one! It's not like you haven't done it before! Plenty of times! Why are you bothering me about it? Can't you see I'm doing something?"

"Well, if that's going to be your attitude about it, maybe I will!" Rita flounced off in a huff of pointy clothes and annoyance. Zedd turned his attention back to the updates. Some days he really wondered why he loved her at all. He could've done better with Divatox.

No, Divatox's nephew was even more annoying than Rito was. And he hadn't thought that was possible.

* * *

><p>Rita stomped a few feet away and stared up at the Earth. She'd watched Kat and Tommy going on their dates ever since the two had started. <em>How can those two be so blasted happy?<em> It ate at her to think that despite everything she'd done, they still found time to have fun and go out with each other. Something had to be done, and since Zedd didn't want to do it, she would have to take care of it herself.

It would probably work better with her doing it anyway. Zedd didn't understand how much it infuriated her to see them like this. Sure, he got upset at the Rangers being happy, but seeing _Kat_ and _Tommy_, her two personal pawns who'd turned on her, being thoroughly happy _together_ made her want to blow something up. Preferably the Earth, or at least Angel Grove.

If she couldn't do that, she could at least ruin their date.

It only took a moment for her to stalk over to her Repulascope and focus it back on the two Rangers. This time, however, instead of just staring and muttering dire threats that she knew she'd never get around to pulling off, she watched where they were and what they were doing. Somewhere around there would be the inspiration for the monster that she wanted. It would be so much better than getting Finster to make something.

Where _were_ they, anyway? She hadn't paid enough attention before, only enough to realize they were on yet another date. She'd wanted to send something to break it up every time, but something always got in the way, from trying to find the palace again to setting up things once they got there.

Now that they'd done all of that, it was time to get back to business: making life miserable for the Power Rangers before actually destroying them once and for all.

_A museum. That's what it is._ That made her chances of finding something to wreck their evening with even better. She hated starting a battle so late in the evening, but since she'd spent most of the day trying to clean up all the dust that settled during the months they'd spent with her father, she hadn't had a chance to do anything until now. And saving it until the next day wouldn't be any fun. Kat and Tommy would have already finished their date.

Which meant she needed to hurry and find something before they did just that.

Rita turned the scope this way and that, trying to find something that really appealed to her destructive instincts. _You'd think with everything that's ready to blow up everything else at a moment's notice in that place, this wouldn't be so hard!_ She'd learned a little about Australia when she'd searched the world for someone to be her spy, and ended up finding Katherine. That was part of why she'd chosen the girl in the first place. Someone from that kind of a place had to be tough and strong enough to survive, and that was what Rita wanted.

In some ways it wasn't really finding something that appealed to her. It was making up her mind on which one she should use that was the difficult part. _Everything_ in Australia had something about it that she liked. Exploding trees, deadly jellyfish, spiders, snakes, crocodiles, even _snails_! She had to love a country that produced a deadly snail.

_If they weren't so slow, I'd use that._ But she had no intentions of creating a monster that the Rangers could outrun if they tried a slow walk. Something else would have to do.

If only there was one create that could contain all of the distilled danger that she enjoyed seeing so much. She started to put it together in her head. A kangaroo's powerful legs, a koala's claws, a platypus's venom…

That was it! Rita's eyes widened in joy as the idea hit her full force. If there wasn't one creature that had everything she wanted, she'd just take all of their best parts and _make_ one of her very own!

"This is perfect!" She swirled around in a happy circle. She couldn't imagine anything being more perfect than this, not unless all the Power Rangers conveniently dropped dead at the same moment. Since they weren't going to be that co operative, she would just have to take care of them herself. And this new monster would see that it happened!

It would take a while to decide what she wanted from all of her available choices. So, just to make sure Kat and Tommy didn't sneakily finish their date while she was designing her new monster, she snapped her fingers hard.

"Tengas! Go down to that museum and keep Kat and Tommy from going anywhere until I say otherwise!" She ordered the group of feathered idiots that answered her call. They needed to upgrade to something better, something that would be able to outstrip the Rangers' Zeo powers, but until such a something better came along, the Tengas would just have to do. At least they were useful for keeping the Rangers occupied.

The bird warriors vanished in a heartbeat and she looked back at the museum, wanting to make sure the fight was on before she got down to picking her parts.

* * *

><p>"Tasmanian devils can really run that fast?" Tommy looked at the small plaque of information set against the exhibit wall. Almost eight miles an hour was pretty impressive, especially for something that small.<p>

"I've never tried to outrun one." Kat shrugged. "Honestly, I've never even seen one."

She started to move on to the next exhibit, when a flutter of black feathers rained down only a few feet away. "And I wish I wasn't seeing these right now!" She declared, falling back into a fighting stance.

"Tengas!" Tommy shook his head, bringing his fists up. "I knew this was too good to last."

Both of them launched into the fight as quickly as they could, ducking the blows of feathered fists and slamming their own fists and feet into the Tengas as hard as they could.

"We need to get them outside!" Kat shouted, ducking a pair of Tengas that tried to team up on her. "Before someone in here gets hurt!" Or before they ruined the exhibit. Most places in Angel Grove had monster insurance of some kind, but both Rangers preferred making it unnecessary.

"Where's a door out of here?" Tommy grabbed one Tenga by the wrist and slammed it into another as hard as he could, grinning as both of them stumbled backwards. His grin fell off his face as they crashed into the very Tasmanian devil display he'd been looking at before they'd interrupted, breaking through the glass and sending the skeleton and stuffed devil scattering. "And the sooner the better!"

Kat slammed one foot into a Tenga's stomach and pushed it away with all of her strength, looking around. There had to be a door around there somewhere, one that wouldn't lead to more people. The few others there for the exhibit had scattered almost as soon as the Tengas showed up, showing the usual intelligence that those of Angel Grove had developed over the last few years. When otherworldly monsters showed up, get out of the way and let those who knew what they were doing handle the problem.

Sometimes she wondered how they kept their identities secret when they were the ones who fought whatever foot soldiers ended up being sent down, and they didn't always have time to morph when it happened.

That was a matter for another day, though. She squawked in surprise as another Tenga tackled her from behind, and the one she'd been trying to shove into the nearest wall wriggled out of her grip and seized her by the arms.

Kat had never questioned her right to use the Spirit of the Crane in the old Ninja days. Kim had given it to her and she'd never had any issues with it. But at this moment, with all of these _bird_ creatures around her, a sharp feline snarl echoed deep from her throat and she slammed both of the Tengas together with every scrap of strength she could dredge up, following it with a quick double kick that put them both down on the floor.

Only a moment later she caught sight of something else, something she'd been too distracted by the fight to notice. "Tommy!" She shouted, waving to catch his attention. The second he looked toward her, she pointed toward the far wall. "There's a door over there!" Hidden quite neatly behind a potted plant, she suspected that it only lead to a storage room or maybe some other hallway. What it likely wouldn't lead to was somewhere with artifacts and displays and people who could get hurt.

Tommy didn't waste a breath; he hurried over to her and the door even as the Tengas started to get back up and circle around them again. "Hey, beakfaces!" He waved at them, wanting to make certain none of them stayed behind. "We're going this way! Catch us if you can!"

Kat yanked the door open, realizing only as she did that if it were locked they didn't have anywhere else to try to run to. Going outside likely enough wouldn't work, not since that was where the other patrons had probably ended up. This was the best that they could do.

Behind the door led a long corridor. Kat couldn't tell where it went from there, other than 'away'. She didn't hesitate to rush down it, though, keeping an eye turned behind her to make certain the Tengas didn't lose them, or worse, catch up to them when they didn't have enough room to fight in.

"Wonder what Rita and Zedd are up to this time?" Tommy kept his own attention on the Tengas as they raced through the corridor. At least they didn't have to morph to deal with them, not like with Cogs. They could handle this without the others, at least for now.

"Trouble, like always. What else?" Kat could feel the wry smile hovering on her lips. That was all Rita and Zedd ever did. She wondered if they'd ever pick up a real hobby, like stamp collecting.

"Up there!" Tommy gestured past her and she looked to see a door half-open. No light came from whatever was on the other side, but they didn't slow down. One of the lead Tengas was far too close anyway, his claws snatching at the back of Tommy's shirt. _I just got this out of the dryer today! If it gets torn…_

That was all he had a chance to think before they were at the door, blowing through it as if they knew what to expect on the other side.

What lay on the other side was a wide room with several unopened boxes in it, and a few people wandering around opening them or unpacking one or two that had already been opened. Tommy didn't waste a second.

"We've got trouble coming after us. Where's the quickest way to somewhere without any people around?"

The workers stared at the two of them without an answer, right up until the first Tengas broke into the room behind them. One of the workers pointed toward a large door with the crowbar still in his hand. "That way. Good luck."

"Thanks." Neither Tommy nor Kat wasted another word but headed toward the indicated door, Tengas hot on their heels.

"Think we should call for backup?" Kat asked just as they slammed through the door, which led out into a loading bay, lit by several bright lights. Just as they'd hoped, there wasn't anyone else there but the two of them and the Tengas.

"I think we've got this."

Tommy had barely finished speaking before the Tengas leaped out after them, and the Red and Pink Rangers launched themselves back into the battle. For all of his brave words, Tommy admitted only to himself that he hoped they could end this before they really did need to call the others.

* * *

><p>Rita looked over everything she'd noted from the museum exhibits. Picking out just the right parts for her new monster had taken a little time, but now she had the ones that she wanted.<p>

"The kicking strength of a kangaroo, the claws of a koala, a platypus's venom, and a Tasmanian devil's speed!" With all of these put together onto a powerful monster body, there was no way the Rangers could defeat it!

She didn't bother calling for Finster's help with this. His monsters were all failures anyway. She'd created monsters without him before and she could definitely do it again. Creating monsters was just like riding a bicycle: you never really forgot.

Rita lifted up her staff and pointed it toward Earth, focusing her attention on the museum and the exhibits there. She'd ordered the Tengas not to cause too much damage, mostly because that would confuse the Rangers and because she knew she'd need the parts available there to weave into her new monster.

"Arise, Australian Abomination!" Lightning crackled forth from the tip of Rita's staff and blasted to Earth, separating into four bolts to hit four different exhibits. Energy from each of those gathered together, circling up and down, and finally fading away, leaving the monster behind. "Abomination, go and attack the Power Rangers! Make certain you finish them off quickly, too!"

"As you wish!" Australian Abomination glowed, gathering itself up into a stream of dark energy that hovered for a heartbeat or two before it slammed out of the museum. Rita drew herself up with pride.

In just a few minutes, it would be two Rangers down, and all the rest to go. Why hadn't she thought of this sooner?

* * *

><p>Kat breathed in a quick lungful of air, just as the last of the Tengas fell backward into the larger group. The feathered fiends exchanged several quick looks, then all of them vanished without another word.<p>

"I don't like this." Tommy shook his head, coming over to her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kat rubbed her arms; she'd be covered with bruises before morning. Luckily she had a lot of experience in explaining them to her parents. "You think Rita and Zedd are up to more than just this?"

"They've got to be. It doesn't make any sense otherwise."

She had to agree. Neither of them underestimated what Rita could do, much less Zedd. "Let's talk to Zordon."

"Rangers!" Neither of them had the chance to raise their communicators before an energy blast sent them both flying. Kat rolled up to her feet and stared in the direction it came from.

"What in the…"

It stood nearly seven feet tall, with muscles on top of muscles and covered in thick black fur, but with tiny eyes, huge legs with even huger feet, and claws that gleamed with a thick horrid orange coating that Kat didn't want to get any closer to than absolutely necessary.

"Who are you?" Tommy asked, also drawing himself to his feet. He didn't need to ask what; this was one of Rita and Zedd's monsters. They just needed to know what it was, so they could figure out how to beat it.

"I am Australian Abomination! And I am going to be the one who destroys all of the Power Rangers!" With no more than that, it launched itself toward them with far greater speed than almost any monster they'd seen before. Kat and Tommy just barely rolled out of the way in time, each to one side so it would have to choose which way to attack.

"You say that like we haven't heard it before. You're going to end up on the trash heap, just like all the rest of Rita and Zedd's monsters." Tommy declared, moving to one side and trying to keep the creature's attention on him.

While he did that, Kat backed off, checked to make sure no one was around to interrupt her, and hit the button on her communicator. "Zordon, this is Kat, come in! Tommy and I ran into trouble at the museum."

"We are monitoring the situation, Katherine." Zordon's comforting voice came back quickly. "Alpha has not yet identified all of the abilities of this Australian Abomination. You and Tommy had best be careful. I am sending the other Rangers to your location."

"Thanks!" She didn't dare spend any more time than that talking. She did take a quick look at the creature, and frowned. Something about it seemed a little too familiar, given where she came from and where they'd just been.

_Wait…_ A passing gust of wind brought a rank odor to her nose and she shuddered. She'd never smelled it before, but it only added to the list slowly building in her mind. The claws, the legs and feet, the speed, all of it could mean only one thing, and it wasn't something she wanted to happen.

"Tommy, be careful! If I'm right, it's got poison on those claws." Kat began to circle the creature, keeping as far back as Tommy was but not getting too close to him. Their best chance until the other got there would be to keep too far apart for it to attack them both.

"You know something about this thing, Kat?"

"It looks like someone put it together from a lot of different animals from Australia." Kat backpedaled as fast as she could to avoid a swipe from those claws. "And we've got a lot of poisonous animals in Australia."

The familiar _swoosh_ heralded the arrival of the other three Rangers, all of whom took up stances in a semi-circle around Australian Abomination. Kat wished Trey were there; they could've used his help quite a bit right then. But they would work with what they had.

"Zordon and Alpha are still working on figuring out what this thing can do. We need to keep it pinned down until they do." Adam told them.

"And I think the best way we can do that is to morph!" Tommy decided. "It's morphin' time!"

One flash of multi-colored light later and five morphed Zeo Rangers now circled the monster, which only laughed at them all.

"You think this is going to help you? Once I get you with my poison, there won't be anything any of you can do except scream like a baby!"

Unfortunately, that didn't help Kat pin down exactly what kind of poison it might be. _And no matter what kind it is, I bet Zedd and Rita made it even worse._

"Rangers!" Alpha's voice came over the communicators before they could close with the monster. "Return to the Power Chamber at once; we've figured out what the monster is made out of!"

Whatever it was, it had to be horrendous for Zordon to pull them out of the battle. The group started to back up, only for Australian Abomination to charge toward them.

"You're not getting away that easily, Rangers!"

In two quick bounds, it cleared the distance between them. Heavily clawed paws struck at Rocky and Adam, both of whom dodged out of the way just barely in the nick of time. Australian Abomination whirled, almost too fast for any of them to see, and charged now at Tommy. The Red Ranger started to move back, and he might well have escaped like the others, if the heel of his boot hadn't come down on a stray rock, sending him skittering backwards.

Rita's monster shot forward even faster, claws slicing into Tommy's suit, sparks flying as the Red Ranger flew backwards, slamming against the museum wall hard enough to dent it.

"Zeo Power Disc!" Kat didn't bother thinking about it; she simply summoned her weapon and threw it, striking the monster upside of the head. Tanya rushed over there as well, slamming her Clubs into the monster's side, then leaping away to clear the path for Rocky and Adam to strike, Axes and Hatchets sending the monster rolling away.

Kat dropped down next to Tommy, who had one hand pressed against his shoulder. It was hard to see against the red of his uniform, but she thought she saw blood, and she definitely saw thick orange traces that could only have come from the monster's venomous claws.

"Let's get him out of here." The last thing Kat saw as they all teleported out was Australian Abomination, laughing hysterically as it righted itself and marching away toward the more populated areas of the city.

* * *

><p>"How bad is it, Alpha?" Kat winced at the gash on Tommy's shoulder. He'd demorphed almost as soon as they'd landed in the Power Chamber, and her fears about the blood were confirmed the moment that he did.<p>

The robot continued to clean the injury, even as Tommy winced just from the light pressure of the cotton swab. "I can't be certain just yet, Katherine. The computer is analyzing the poison now." Kat turned to face Zordon, gloved hands clenched together. "It's going to attack more people. We have to stop it." As much as she wanted to stay and watch over Tommy, she knew her duty as a Power Ranger. And if they couldn't help Tommy, then they certainly couldn't help anyone else the monster attacked.

"We will, Katherine." Zordon reassured her before he turned his attention on the team as a whole. "Our scans so far indicate that the Australian Abomination is created from a melding of kangaroo, koala, Tasmanian devil, and platypus, taking some of the most powerful qualities from each of those."

Kat put it together faster than the others. "Tasmanian devils are fast. That's why it moved the way that it did." They were probably lucky it hadn't tried to attack them both at the same time. It might well have been able to do it. "Koalas have sharp claws, we saw those. Kangaroos…better not let it kick you."

"What can a platypus do, though?" Rocky wondered. "Aren't they those things with the duck bills and fur?"

"They also have venom." Kat told him, a sudden iciness forming in the pit of her stomach. "It's not fatal to a human, but it could paralyze someone if there's enough of it." She started to turn toward Tommy, when Zordon spoke again.

"Australian Abomination's venom is perhaps a hundred times more powerful than that of an ordinary platypus." Zordon said what she didn't want to hear.

Rocky shook his head a little. "So how do you fix the ordinary stuff?"

Kat closed her eyes and drew a quiet breath. "You can't. There's no known antidote for platypus venom. People have reported feeling the effects for months afterward. And if this is even worse…"

"Hey, Alpha…" Tommy spoke up for the first time since they'd returned to the Power Chamber. "Got any aspirin or something? That monster really got me bad." He tried to rub at his shoulder, which had already begun to swell worrisomely.

"That won't do any good." Kat murmured, remembering times she'd heard about people who were injured by a platypus. It didn't happen often, but it did happen. "Not even morphine can help it."

Alpha shuffled over to one of the storage lockers. "I'll see what I can find, Tommy." Kat could see his head tilted in a way that meant he was looking at her, and didn't argue about it. If they did have something that could help, she wanted Tommy to have it.

Worried looks flew fast all around the four injured Rangers. "So how do we stop it?" Adam wondered. "There's got to be a way."

Kat turned to the Viewing Globe, watching as the monster sent people fleeing from it. So far, no one else had been hit by the claws, but she suspected that was more to do with the fact the creature probably wanted to save the venom for them. That didn't stop it from sending people running screaming and blowing up any buildings that it wanted to as it stomped through the streets.

They needed to get rid of the claws. That was what held the Abomination's venom. "Let's see if we can get those claws taken care of first. Once they're out of the way, we can try the Zeo Blaster." Kat suggested.

"And if that doesn't work, I bet the Zeo Cannon would." Tanya added in.

Adam and Rocky both nodded; after all this time, they had a pretty good idea of what would work on the monsters and what wouldn't.

No one asked how they would use the Zeo Cannon or the Zeo Blaster without Tommy. All of them hoped they wouldn't have to find out.

Tommy started to push himself to his feet. "Everyone ready? Then back-"

"Hold it." Kat interrupted before he could finish, pointing him back down. "You're not going anywhere just yet. You're still hurt."

He stared at her as she gestured to the wound on his shoulder. She could see him trying not to wince as he shifted back a fraction, then shook her head firmly.

"You're not in any condition to fight, and unless Alpha can find a treatment for it…" Kat broke off, not wanting to say what she feared the most. "You need to stay here for now."

"She's right, man," Rocky put in, giving Tommy's injury a worried look. "That thing got you pretty good."

Tommy winced again, raising one hand to brush across his shoulder for a moment before he pulled away from it. "Yeah, I think you're right. Maybe I should sit this one out for now." He breathed deeply, lines of pain appearing when he didn't make an effort to stop them. "Give it a good one for me?"

Kat managed something that sort of resembled a smile, though not a very pleased one. "You got it."

* * *

><p>Rita could not stop laughing. "This is perfect! We finally took down Tommy!" One of her favorite dreams had finally happened! She should <em>definitely<em> should've created a monster from down under before!

Now all she needed to do was wait for the Rangers to come back and watch as her monster destroyed them all in one fell swoop. She didn't care that platypus venom wasn't fatal. It didn't need to be. The more she thought about it, the more Rita liked that it wasn't. One good hit and the Rangers would all be just like Tommy, paralyzed and in agonizing pain, unable to do anything but watch while her fantastic new monster shredded everything in sight!

"What are you up to now?"

She whirled to see Zedd standing beside her, apparently having finished reading the news, and looking fairly annoyed that she was so happy and he had nothing to do with it.

"I did just what you said, Zeddy! I made my own monster and it's already injured Tommy! There's nothing the Rangers can do to help him, either! He's out of the picture, for good!"

"I've heard that one before." Zedd muttered, tilting his head to take a look at Earth himself. "And I'll believe they're defeated when I see it with my own eyes."

"Well, then, you'd better be ready to look, because before today's over with, they _are_ going to be defeated!" Rita didn't want to hear any of Zedd's defeatist talk today. She considered taking him out of the picture herself once she'd taken over Earth. She wouldn't need him anymore then.

Granted, she'd miss waking up to that familiar grill every morning, but maybe…

She'd decide on that once all of the Rangers were finished and nothing was left of Zordon's Power Chamber or Command Center or whatever name it was going by this week but smoking rubble.

* * *

><p>Tommy closed his eyes as the rest of the Rangers teleported out of the Power Chamber. He wished he could go with them, but with every passing moment, it was harder and harder for him to move his shoulder. Sharp spikes of pain radiating downward from where the creature's claws had torn into his shoulder. The wound itself didn't look too bad; if it weren't for how much it hurt, he would've just slapped a dressing on it and gone right back to the fight. But if he were honest with himself, he didn't think that he could stand up for more than a few moments, much less actually do anything against the monster.<p>

"Tommy?"

He cracked one eye open to see Alpha in front of him, holding one of those strange devices used whenever they were injured. It didn't happen often enough for him to know what to call that one, but he hoped it would help. "Yeah, Alpha?"

"I'm going to run some tests on you and see if the computers can come up with an antidote for the venom." The robot hesitated before continuing. "It might hurt. I can't be sure."

Tommy set his jaw. "It can't hurt worse than it already does." Even as he said that, he knew he was wrong. The more time that passed, the worse his shoulder and arm hurt, and the more the pain crept all through him. Just sitting there, moving the little bit he needed to in order to talk, made him hurt even worse.

Alpha shuffled closer, a dark green beam emitting from the device that he held. Tommy tensed himself, and flinched as he did, since that sent another wave of pain all through him. Alpha waved it all over the affected area, murmuring something Tommy guessed was meant to soothe him. He didn't feel very soothed, though.

_The others need me. I can't stay here waiting._ He knew that right down to his bones. His bones had another story to tell, as did his flesh, both involving the fact that he couldn't even stand up without wanting to fall down and stay that way.

He took a few deeper breaths in the hopes that would help him fight back the agony twisting through him. It did nothing. He'd learned a lot of techniques to ignore pain while training in karate, and tried as many as he could think of right now. Not one of them did anything. The pain just grew worse and worse, a huge horrible knot that glowed brilliant scarlet and shimmering sick yellow in his shoulder and moved down to his arm and chest, a slow reaching line of black and red that set every inch it touched aflame.

Tommy let his head sag back against the computer banks behind him. He wanted Alpha to find something to fix this, and soon. Every breath he took hurt now. Not in the kind of way that would make him fear for his life, but worse: it made him fear for everyone he couldn't help, because he couldn't move from this spot.

This was all Rita's fault. And somehow, someday, he'd find a way to get her back for it.

* * *

><p>"Hold it right there!" Kat drew her Zeo Blaster in the same breath that she and the others landed in front of Australian Abomination. She refused to even call this monster by its name. It made a mockery out of her home, and she wanted to destroy it for that alone, not to mention what it had done to Tommy.<p>

"Well, well, what's this?" The creature eyed them all, waving one clawed hand. "You seem to be one Ranger short! Something wrong with your big strong leader?"

Kat never quite figured out how she stopped herself from just slamming one fist into the monster's fanged mouth. Instead, she aimed her blaster at it. "You're not going to get anyone else with that poison of yours."

"Try and stop me!"

Kat knew how fast Tasmanian Devils could move. She still couldn't move quite fast enough to avoid Australian Abomination as it crashed into her, knocking her backwards and sending her Zeo Blaster skittering out of reach.

She was back on her feet in a heartbeat, however, and took a jump back to avoid the swipe of those filthy claws. Having one of them out of commission was bad enough. She didn't want there to be two.

"What's the matter, Pink Ranger? Scared of me?"

"No, you've just got a really bad manicure and I don't want it anywhere near me." She could see the other Rangers had their own problems, kicking and punching the dozen Tengas that appeared out of nowhere. She was going to have to handle this on her own, at least until they could get rid of the birdbrains.

Again it slammed into her, sending her spiraling back until she could get her feet under her again. "Pay attention when I'm pounding you, Ranger!"

"Why should I?" Kat taunted, moving back to where she hoped her Zeo Blaster was. She didn't dare make looking for it too obvious. She had to pull this off carefully, if she could pull it off at all.

"Because I said so, that's why!"

This time, Kat knew to watch out for the creature's charge, and she dodged out of the way, rolling toward the fallen blaster she spied out of the corner of her eye. The monster whirled around, growling, and raised sharp, deadly claws.

"You got away that time, but I'm gonna send you to the hospital right next to your boyfriend!"

Kat grabbed her blaster and came up on one knee, pointing it toward the Australian Abomination. "Sorry, that's not the kind of date we like going on."

She didn't wait another second, but started firing, aiming directly at the creature's claws. She hadn't used the Power Bow as often as Kimberly had, but the Power gave her enough hand-eye co-ordination to know where she wanted those shots to go and put them there. Back the monster stumbled, farther with each shot, and she enjoyed seeing those claws start to spark and shatter under the onslaught.

Then more lasers began to join the blasting, and the other three Rangers stood beside her, the Tengas gone. Their aim was as good as hers, and in moments, Australian Abomination fell backward, groaning as it waved its paws about.

"You…you broke my claws!"

"And that's not all we're going to break!" Rocky declared, taking a step forward. "Ready, guys?"

"Ready!" The call came from three other throats as they prepared to call the Zeo Blaster and finish the monster off for good. None of them were surprised when lightning ripped down from the skies, striking the creature directly, and it rose up once again, this time, well over fifty feet tall. Thankfully, the claws remained gone.

Kat held back a brief sigh. "Looks like it's time for the Zords." She'd expected this. After all this time, they all had.

"Can we do this without Tommy?" Tanya wondered. Adam set a hand on her shoulder.

"We're going to have to." They hadn't heard anything from Alpha, Tommy, or Zordon in the few minutes the fight had taken, and none of them expected to until afterward.

Kat threw up one hand toward the sky. "We need Zeo Zord power, now!" And with the command spoken, they could see their Zords already surging toward them. Only the Phoenix failed to join them.

Once settled into their Zords, the Rangers turned all of their firepower onto Australian Abomination, sending it stumbling backward. That didn't work for long, however, as it recovered itself and lunged toward them with all possible speed. There wasn't enough room or time for them to move out of the way, and the Rangers found themselves and their Zords scattered.

"We need to form the Zeo MegaZord!" Kat declared, trying to get her sights on the monster again. With as fast as it was moving, that was all but impossible right now. "Alpha, can you read us? Can you pilot the Phoenix Zeo Zord remotely?"

The answer she got wasn't the one that any of them expected. "He won't need to, Kat." From out of the sun came the Phoenix Zeo Zord, diving with a warrior's screech and talons outstretched. Energy bolts came from those claws, knocking the monster back enough to give them space. "Sorry I'm late, guys. Mind if I join the party?"

"Tommy!" Kat sat up in her seat, eyes wide and heart pounding with excitement for a moment before she frowned. "What are you doing out here, you're still hurt!"

"Not as much as I was. Alpha found a way to neutralize the venom. Come on, let's do this!"

Kat refused to admit just how happy she was to hear his voice, not when there was a fight to finish. In moments they were all in the MegaZord cockpit together.

"Let's do this, Rangers!" Tommy declared, sounding as healthy as he ever had.

"It's not going to be that easy, Rangers!" Australian Abomination leaped forward, huge feet slamming into the combined robot and sending it stumbling against a skyscraper. It followed up with a couple of hard punches, which would've done much more damage to a human than they did to the MegaZord.

Kat had had about enough of this. "Let me handle this, guys. Zeo Ranger I Battle Helmet!" Her battle helmet descended onto the MegaZord, latching tightly into place, and she fired, sending several powerful blasts of energy against Australian Abomination. The monster stumbled back, taken off guard, and now it was the Rangers' fight completely.

As quick as Australian Abomination was, the Zeo MegaZord proved just a fraction quicker, slamming a huge fist into it before it could recover itself, knocking it backwards and off its feet completely.

"Time to end this!" All five of them agreed, and Tommy took his place at the front, summoning his Battle Helmet. The Zeo MegaZord Sabre appeared in their hand a moment later. Energy ran up and down the blade for a few moments before they slashed through the monster just as it was beginning to get back on its feet. In the typical shower of lights and explosions, Australian Abomination exploded, leaving behind nothing more than bad memories.

* * *

><p>"No! This can't be happening!" Rita stomped her foot and her staff repeatedly. How could it have happened <em>again<em>? They were so close! She was so close!

Zedd laughed, shaking his grilled face. "I could've told you this would happen."

"This is all your fault, Zedd!" Rita wasn't above shoving the blame onto someone else. Especially Zedd. "If you'd helped instead of reading the newspaper, they wouldn't have won _again_!"

The Emperor of Evil gave her a look that might've quelled her ten thousand years earlier. But years of marriage had evaporated her fear of him and she flounced away, determined that the next time she made a monster, it would be one that would destroy the Power Rangers once and for all.

* * *

><p>"Good to see you're all right," Rocky said, reaching to pat Tommy on the formerly injured shoulder. The Red Ranger pulled away before he could, though.<p>

"Careful, it's not all the way back in shape yet," Tommy said with a rueful grin. "Alpha got rid of the poison and stopped most of the pain, but it's still going to take a while before it's completely fixed."

Kat turned toward Alpha at that. "How did you do it? No one's ever been able to cure platypus venom before."

"It's because of what Rita did to the monster to make it more powerful. That made the venom easier to get rid of, since she had to change it. If she'd left it the way that it was, I don't know if I could've done anything at all. But making it worse meant I could use a remedy from my home planet. Edenoi has a few poisonous creatures of its own, you know." Alpha bobbed his head some, in what they knew was a blush. "I only wish it could work on the regular version of the venom."

"Don't worry about it, Alpha." Kat smiled at that. "We can manage."

Tommy reached over to brush his fingers against her hand. "You know, it's getting a little late. Want to finish our date?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Kat entwined her fingers with his, and with a quick nod to the others, the two of them teleported out.

* * *

><p>By the time the two of them parked once more outside of the Hillard house, the sun was long since set, and stars twinkled dimly in the skies above. A pale silver glow to the east, only visible if one looked at just the right place, heralded the arrival of the moon. Neither Kat nor Tommy bothered looking, though. The moon meant Rita and Zedd and they'd both had enough of those two for one day.<p>

"Well, I had fun." Kat said, not yet opening her door. Her lips twitched. "Except for the monster and you getting hurt, that is."

"Yeah, I didn't like that part either. But other than that…" All in all, it was really just another day for the Power Rangers.

Tommy turned so he could look her directly in the face, a thousand words rushing up to his throat and yet none of them passed his lips. Their hands were once again entwined, having done so almost as soon as he'd stopped the truck.

He moved a little closer to her, and she to him, their eyes never leaving one another. Slowly, carefully, gently, as if a single wrong move might shatter everything and neither knew what that wrong move might be, their lips brushed softly together, hesitantly at first, then with a little more passion, more certainty.

It was the first time in the month they'd dated that they'd kissed one another. Both leaned even closer, Kat's free hand reaching upward to move through Tommy's hair, and his doing the same with her own.

Neither specifically wanted to stop, but Kat did move away at last, her gaze going over to the house. She doubted her parents were actually watching, but she didn't want any problems.

"I should go in." Kat murmured, one hand still buried in his hair. Reluctantly she pulled her fingers out, moving her head so he could do the same. He seemed every bit as loathe to do it as she was, and they still looked at each other. Something had changed, just a little, but she knew it was a good change.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked at last, and she nodded without a bit of hesitation. She looked forward to seeing him as often as possible.

**The End**


	2. The Opposite of Love

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Power Rangers Zeo/Turbo/Dino Thunder  
><strong>Title:<strong> Seven Kisses: Chapter 2: The Opposite of Love  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Kat x Tommy  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> chapter: 9,430||story: 18,345  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance, Adventure||**Rated:** PG-13  
><strong>Challenge:<strong> 7snogs: Kat x Tommy: Double Night Challenge: prompt #2, reflection  
><strong>Notes:<strong> This takes place sometime in the early part of the first season of Power Rangers Turbo.  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another. Kiss #2: Divatox hates that Kat and Tommy have a better love life than she does. She's going to fix that.

* * *

><p>Divatox liked watching the Power Rangers. She liked knowing that there wasn't anything they could do about it, and watching them gave her all manner of interesting ideas she could and did use against them.<p>

What she didn't like was some of what she saw that she couldn't use. Their jobs held a modicum of interest, as did their family lives, to some extent. She learned that Tommy had a brother, and made a note to put that to use one of these days. She hadn't yet decided how, and the boy didn't come into town that often, so she saved the idea for when it would become useful.

She also learned very early on in her observations that Kat and Tommy were an item and had been for months. The more she watched them, the more her twisted heart beat faster with rage.

_How dare they! How __**dare**__ they!_ A low growl throbbed deep in her throat as she stared through her periscope at the happy couple, currently wrapped around one another at Kat's parents' home, watching some movie together. From what she'd heard, this was their first weekend together in almost a month, with his work at the racetrack having kept them apart.

If only they'd stayed like that. Even if they were still together, knowing they weren't _together_ would've thrilled Divatox to no end.

Spitting out a few words that would've turned the ears of almost any human who heard them bright red, she threw herself back into her chair, tossing the periscope to the side. "I hate those Power Rangers!"

Neither Rygog, Elgar, nor Porto took any special interest in her declaration. She'd said it at least four times a day since they'd arrived on Earth, and it ceased to have any special meaning to them. Porto was busy anyway, cataloging some of the lesser used storage areas. When she'd packed up the Subcraft for this mission, she hadn't bothered to clear out the junk, and he'd mumbled something hours earlier about wanting to see if they had anything useful in there. She doubted they would. If it was, she would've used it already.

She drummed her fingers on the side of her throne, trying to think of something that would actually bring her victory. _Forget victory, I'd settle for those two Power Ranger lovebirds to start throwing knives at each other._

Well, maybe not knives. Three of her ex-boyfriends considered that a form of foreplay. But at least not cuddling up together, cooing, and in general trying to make her sick. They had to be doing this on purpose. They knew that she watched them; there wasn't any other reason for them to curl up like that. Not that she would accept, anyway.

"My queen?" Porto had to call her twice more before she bothered looking up. Whatever he wanted couldn't be as important as her pouting, and if it was, she wanted it disposed of as soon as possible.

"This better be good. I'm in the middle of planning how to destroy the Power Rangers." In some circles that was much the same as saying she was in the middle of breathing. Those circles being those who called themselves her servants and advisors, of course. "Especially that _Kat_ and _Tommy_." She'd heard it was all Rita's fault the two of them were Power Rangers, much less knew each other in the first place.

No surprise there. Rita never had been known for her skill in plotting.

Porto shifted closer to her. "This is very good, my queen. I think it might even work with what you've got in mind right now."

"What?" Divatox lifted her gaze to meet her science advisor. "What are you going on about?" The thought that he might actually have something she could use was a strange one. He created and summoned monsters at her command, but that was his job, to do as she told. If he showed something like _initiative_, it would be the first time she could remember.

He held out a small tablet toward her. "This is what I've found doing my inventory of the storage areas."

She almost threw it back at him. "What do I want with all of that junk?" The only reason she didn't throw it out was because she hated getting rid of anything. It could be valuable someday, even if not to her. The idea of trading it all in for cash did appeal to her. She'd have to get around to it.

Porto took the tablet back and tapped one line on it. "Look here, my queen. It's the emotional reverser device that we picked up on that raid about three hundred years ago."

"Emotional reverser?" Divatox tasted the words carefully. She vaguely recalled something about it, but not any actual details. "Tell me more." It did sound a little interesting.

Behind his mask, Porto smiled. "It turns any human emotion to the reverse of what it is." He tapped the tablet with his thick fingers. "Love becomes indifference, for example."

Divatox's eyes widened as all the implications began to crash in on her. Then she frowned, eyeing him. "Indifference? Why not hate?" As fascinating as it would be for Kat and Tommy to ignore one another, the thought of them at each other's throats was equally tempting and delicious.

"Because hate is just as strong as love. Indifference means they'd never even look at each other." Porto waved one hand. "With this, you can control how anyone feels about anyone else. There's just one small problem with it."

"I don't care." Divatox waved one hand. So long as it didn't blow up in her face and could do what she wanted, she was fine with it. It could blow up in Elgar's face, so long as it made Tommy and Kat completely apathetic toward one another. "How does it work?"

"You just point it at the couple in question and press the button." Porto shifted back and forth, watching her cautiously. "But, my queen, you really should let me finish."

Divatox smacked him upside his head. "Shut up and bring me that device. I'm going to do this myself." She could hardly think of anything at the moment that would make her any happier than she already was.

Well, maybe a few billion tons of gold would do it. But until she could get hold of that, she would settle for this.

* * *

><p>Kat leaned her head on Tommy's shoulder, breathing in his distinctive aroma. It wasn't like it had been when they'd first started to date, though she could still catch that whiff there. Now oil and the scent of the racetrack teased at her nose. It wasn't the most enticing smell she'd ever encountered, but since it was Tommy's, she liked it anyway.<p>

He wouldn't be here much longer. He needed to get his rest. But she didn't want him to go.

_We don't have that much more time._ Sooner or later it would happen. They'd already begun to search for their successors, and after that, the call of the world would come. If it hadn't already.

Until then, though, she would enjoy what time they did have together. So she closed her eyes and relaxed into the warmth of his arms.

"Kat." She didn't know how long she'd been there when she heard him call her name. She drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes, leaning back.

"Is it that time already?" She really didn't want it to be. She wanted tonight to go on forever.

Tommy smiled, leaning his head against hers for a few quiet moments. "Sorry. But if I don't get some sleep, it's going to show up on the track." Kat winced at the thought and began to push herself up.

"When's your next race?" She was going to make it there; he'd come to more than one of her recitals and she wanted to see him winning yet again.

"Not until next weekend. I've still got some time." He folded his hands around hers and brought them up to brush his lips over them. "Let's hope Divatox behaves herself until then."

A soft smile tugged at Kat's lips. "No kidding. But she's been pretty quiet lately anyway." Maybe they could have a little more time to rest. Not that any of the Rangers (except maybe Justin, given how new he was at all of this) trusted quiet time to last all that long.

Reluctance in every line of his body, Tommy stepped toward the door, Kat only a few breaths behind him. Perhaps next time they had a little time to spare, they could meet up at his apartment, she thought. It would be a lot more private. Her parents were still there, in their own room, giving them at least some time to themselves. His apartment, small as it was, would be just for the two of them.

They stood on the porch, the soft shadows of night dispersed only by the streetlights and the porchlights. Kat tightened her grip on Tommy's hand and smiled at him.

"I'll be there next weekend." She decided right away she'd bring him something to eat; he never would eat before a race, just like he never had before a martial arts competition. He'd told her that it always tended to sit in his stomach like a rock, but afterward, he'd plow through any food put in front of him. She wasn't the best cook ever, but she knew a couple of recipes that he might like.

"Can't wait to see you." He leaned down to kiss her and she returned it, heart picking up as it always did whenever they kissed.

"Same to you."

For a moment they stood like that, until finally Tommy turned away and started toward his car. Kat didn't want to watch him leave, but she didn't want to just go inside, either.

A faint flicker of movement from the bushes nearby caught her attention briefly, and she tensed. Years of being a Power Ranger taught Kat how to recognize when there was danger of some kind near her, and the sense that someone out there _did not like her_ rang sharp and strong all through her. Her attention flicked back to Tommy, only a few steps from his truck, and she began to open her mouth to call to him.

Light washed over her from somewhere she couldn't precisely see and for a moment, Kat's legs grew weak and watery. She blinked a few times, her head spinning, as she tried to figure out what was going on. Had she seen something? Heard something?

Whatever it was, if it had even been anything at all, it was gone now. Nothing at all had even happened. _Probably just something I imagined._

She stepped back inside, closing the door behind herself, barely acknowledging Tommy's headlights as he started his truck and headed away. She had more important things to think about than him anyway. She had to work on her latest routines and keep up with her own students.

Now that she thought about it, maybe having a boyfriend wasn't such a great idea right now anyway.

* * *

><p>Divatox squealed in triumph, twirling around in place as she held her new toy to the sky. "This is perfect!" Sure, it looked like it was starting off slow, but she could already see a few changes in the two Rangers. Normally from what she'd seen watching them, they'd both hang around staring at each other in the most annoying fashion possible before whoever needed to go home actually did. This time, Kat simply turned and walked back inside, while Tommy drove away without a single lingering look behind himself.<p>

"My queen…" Porto shuffled closer to her, keeping an eye on the house just behind the bushes. "We should probably go back to the Subcraft."

As much as she wanted to stay and revel in the destruction of those horrid, annoying emotions, Divatox almost thought that he had a point. Besides, the longer they stayed there, the more likely it was that Dimitria would notice their presence, and that would _really_ annoy her. _Stupid embodiment of good._ She'd find a way to get rid of her one of these days.

"Then let's go." It only took a quick flexing of her power to get back to the Subcraft, and she kept hold of the emotion reversal device all the way, gloved fingers running up and down it. "Porto. I have an idea."

He shuffled closer as they materialized on the bridge. "Yes, your greatness? What can I do to help?"

"I want you to make me a very _big_ version of this thing. I want it able to affect the entire world." Divatox smiled as the idea shaped itself fully in her head. "Just one blast, and everyone stops caring about protecting their valuables. Then they can _all be mine_."

Porto blinked several times, staring at her. Divatox ignored him, settling herself on her throne and reaching for the periscope. She wanted to make certain that everything worked out the way she wanted it to between the Red and Pink Rangers.

After a few moments, she frowned. "Porto, you haven't scuttled off to do what I told you to do. Why not?" That wasn't like him. Normally he jumped to listen before she finished telling him what to do.

"Queen Divatox, there really is something that you need to know about this device."

She rose to her feet, eyes flashing, mere heartbeats from incinerating him where he stood. "All I need to know is that you are working on the planet-sized version and that it will be ready as soon as possible. I think tomorrow should give you plenty of time." She reached over and patted him on the cheek, or whatever it was passed for his cheek. "I'll even be nice and say you can have until lunchtime tomorrow." Divatox's voice hardened. "But only until lunchtime."

Porto scuttled back as quickly as he could, snatching the device from where she'd dropped it. "Yes, my queen! You'll have it!"

Divatox smirked as she turned and settled herself back on her throne. She liked it when people understood just how good it was to be the Queen.

"Hey, Auntie D! Look what I caught!"

She hated it when Elgar existed. Why couldn't he go bother someone else?

* * *

><p>Dimitria didn't need all the sensors and probes that Zordon had in order to know when the forces of evil moved on Earth. She hesitated to call herself the 'embodiment of good', though she knew full well that Divatox called her that. Nevertheless, the two of them did have a bond of some kind, one that the Inquirian sorceress had never fully explored or even thought about a great deal. It simply wasn't something she was interested in.<p>

But now that the two of them both called Earth home, it was something she could and did put to use on occasion. This meant that she knew when Divatox grew close to one of the Rangers, thanks to a variety of warding spells she'd placed on each of them shortly after her arrival. She wanted them to grow and be stronger, to not depend on strengths and knowledge outside of their own, but that didn't mean she wouldn't look out for them.

Which was why she knew that Divatox had been in the area of Kat's parents' home that night. Precisely what the space pirate was up to, Dimitria couldn't yet figure out. Nothing had happened that she could see.

"Something up, Dimitria?" Alpha-6 asked, his own attention going over the sensors. He needed them, even if she didn't, and for that reason she wanted them kept in full working order.

"Would it surprise you to learn that I am not entirely certain?" Phrasing what she needed others to know wasn't always easy for her people, but if it could make them think, she was all for it. "Were you aware that Divatox drew near to Katherine and Tommy not very long ago?"

Alpha drew up in surprise and started for the monitors. "Are they okay? Why didn't they say anything?"

"Could it be possible they were not aware of her presence?" Dimitria suspected that was the only reason; neither Kat nor Tommy would've just ignored Divatox if they knew she was there. The real question was _why_ she was there in the first place.

Her assistant fiddled around with the monitors and alarms, running test after test. "Can't find anything that she did. No monsters in the area. It's like she just stared at them for a while."

Dimitria considered that with all due care. "Would it not be wise to watch them over the next few days?"

"Probably right. Just because we can't find something doesn't mean Divatox didn't _do_ something." Alpha shuffled about even more, muttering under his non-existent breath about how difficult it was to watch for something when they didn't even know what they should be watching for.

Dimitria quite understood that. But being a Power Ranger, or one who guided the Rangers, was never easy. Nothing that involved the forces of evil on any level ever was.

* * *

><p>Tommy parked his truck and headed up to his apartment, a vague sort of distance in his thoughts that was a little unusual. Normally after a date with Kat, she was all that was on his mind, the scent of her hair, the soft warmth of her skin, the sparkle in her eyes. But now, he couldn't seem to bring any of that to mind, and even more unusual, he didn't seem to care all that much.<p>

_Maybe it's over?_ They'd had a fun time tonight, but looking back on it…well, something just didn't seem the same anymore. It wasn't something he could put his finger on, but it was there all the same. Or not there. He wasn't sure which was which and he couldn't muster up the interest to think about it very hard. Especially not when he had a race to win in the very near future.

That was really more important, anyway. He'd worked hard to get into the circuit and while they'd been kind of enjoyable, the time he took away to spend with Kat could be hampering his effectiveness just a little.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time that he and someone else had broken up. At least this time he could do it in person, and it would be his choice on the matter.

He'd call her in the morning and bring it up. If he had the time. Right now, he stifled a yawn, and headed on to bed. Getting sleep was a lot more important than thinking about his love life, or about to be lack of.

* * *

><p>Even though the Youth Center was traditionally where the students of Angel Grove congregated before, during, and after classes, it still welcomed those who had graduated. Most of them lent a hand around the place in some fashion or other, helping to clean up or to do stock whenever they had the chance. Which was why Jason and Rocky were now helping Jerome Stone get everything cleaned and sorted out. His ownership of the Youth Center was still somewhat new, only a few months old, and he wanted to make certain everything was in absolute order at all times.<p>

"It's kind of weird, you know," Jason murmured under his breath to his fellow former Ranger. "I just am not used to seeing him behind the bar."

"Yeah, I know." Rocky pushed his broom carefully; he couldn't haul the stock around the way Jason could, since his doctor still had him being very careful about how much he lifted or pushed around, but he could manage a broom well enough. "I keep looking over there and expecting to see Ernie."

"You and me both." Jason shook his head as he set a box of fruit destined to become smoothie ingredients on the counter. "I guess things change, though."

Rocky nodded; Power Rangers knew that better than most, since their lives revolved around powers changing, teammates changing, and enemies changing. And, something he'd never considered before, even mentors changing.

He leaned back carefully, rubbing his forehead, and inspected his work. He didn't get to Angel Grove as often as he wanted, not since he was still busy with his business classes in Stone Canyon, but he wanted to help out here. He'd spent a lot of good times in the Youth Center.

"Hey!" He looked up at the sound of Jason's voice and grinned when he saw Kat coming in. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, I've been really busy." Kat headed over to the bar even as she replied. "What about you guys? I haven't seen you around."

"Been busy." Rocky swept a bit closer to her. "Just in town to get a few things from my parents' before I head back to Stone Canyon."

"I've been applying to a few schools." Jason hadn't made up his mind on exactly what he wanted to do with his life after graduation. Nothing had ever thrilled him to the point of commitment, not like being a Power Ranger had, anyway. He spent most of his time doing odd jobs around town, enjoying helping people wherever he could.

Kat nodded, settling down with the drink she'd ordered. "I've been working with the kids at school." She took a quiet drink, eyes distant for a few moments. Whatever was on her mind, though, she said nothing of it, simply enjoying the company and her drink.

"What about Tommy?" Rocky asked, leaning against the counter. He'd done about all the sweeping he could do for the moment. The floor wouldn't need it again until closing time. He hoped.

She blinked and shrugged, a sort of attitude that he couldn't remember seeing from her before. "Driving, mostly."

Rocky glanced toward Jason, and wasn't surprised at all to see the flickers of worry going through those dark eyes. He knew Kat better than the ex-Gold Ranger did, but both of them could figure out easily that something about this was off. "I hear he's been doing pretty well at that."

"I didn't expect him to end up like that." Jason put in, taking a few steps closer. "I thought he'd probably end up with a martial arts studio."

Rocky couldn't help but nod in agreement; he would gladly have offered any of his friends a share in the one that he planned to start once he'd graduated college. Tommy would be an excellent teacher.

"I guess it is kind of a surprise." Kat's voice didn't hold the fascinated interest that it had the last time they'd talked to her about her boyfriend. If anything, she seemed almost…uncaring? "You should probably talk to him about it, though."

Again Rocky and Jason exchanged glanced, more and more concern rising between them. "Are you all right, Kat?" Jason asked finally. "You don't quite seem like yourself."

"I'm fine." She blinked at the two of them, gaze flicking between them. "What makes you think I'm not?"

"Well, for one thing, you don't usually brush off talking about Tommy like that." Rocky pointed out.

"I what?" Kat shook her head in confusion. "I guess…well, I suppose I can tell you." She adjusted her grip on the glass, looking down into it before returning her attention to them. "Tommy and I broke up this morning."

There weren't that many people in the Youth Center anyway, but even so, Jason and Rocky both felt as if a dead sort of quiet fell, deeper than could be accounted for with just a half-dozen or so there.

"What?" Jason uttered the word carefully, as if uncertain of what kind of reaction it might get. "I talked to him just the other day, he was…" He broke that off. "He didn't say anything at all about it."

"He might not have thought about it then." Kat didn't appear all that upset about it. "It's probably for the best, though. It's nothing to get worked up about."

She looked into her glass and then toward where Jerome Stone stood. "Could I have another one, please? And make it to go, I need to get going."

"Sure, Kat." His look was as confused as Jason and Rocky both felt, but he moved along to fill her order anyway.

"Something is going on." Jason kept his voice low as Kat paid for her drinks and headed out of the Youth Center. "This isn't like either of them. Tommy…" He hesitated, then shook his head and shrugged. "He wanted to ask Kat about a promise ring."

Rocky's eyes widened and a quick grin flashed over his face. "Man, I'm always the last to know these things." The grin faded in a matter of seconds, however. "So if they're broken up now, then something really bad must've happened."

"Right." Jason's gaze followed where Kat had left. "Wonder if it's…" His eyes dropped for a moment to his right wrist. Every ex-Ranger still wore their communicator, or the new version that Billy made for them. It wasn't something they used on a regular basis, but it was there in case any of them needed any help out of a tight situation. After a couple of his experiences with the Machine Empire, Billy wanted to make certain no one stood a chance of being captured by their enemies.

Rocky fidgeted a little. "Maybe we could go find out?" If this all turned out to be them overthinking things and making mountains out of molehills, it would probably be better if they didn't involve too many other people with it.

"Wouldn't hurt to ask." Jason lifted his head and cleared his throat, getting Stone's attention. "Hey, we've got to go. Something came up."

The former police officer/detective nodded. "Sure. Thanks for the help, guys."

"Our pleasure." Rocky tossed the broom into the nearest closet and headed for the doorway. Teleporting from the entryway probably worked for Power Rangers, but he didn't want to push his luck now that the Power wasn't protecting them quite as much as it used to.

Behind them, a small periscope appeared in a pitcher of ice water, and far away, Divatox growled in fury.

* * *

><p>"They're going to wreck everything!" The pirate queen wanted to throw a temper tantrum and saw no reason to hold back. "Stop them! Stop them right now!"<p>

Rygog stepped up, sword at the ready. "I can take some Piranhatrons to Earth. Those two aren't Rangers anymore; this will be easy."

"Do it! I don't care if you catch them or not, just make sure they don't get to the Power Chamber!" She _ached_ to find out where that was; all of her tracking couldn't locate it, and Rita and Zedd never wanted to answer her when she called them and demanded to know it. 'Find it on your own', they said. As if it were that easy.

She would find it, and when she did, she'd tear it to the ground, leaving not one stone on top of another. Perhaps she'd build herself a castle on the ruins. A sly, slow smile tilted her lips at the thought of that. Yes. That was _exactly_ what she would do.

Until she found the Power Chamber, she'd have to content herself with just trashing the Rangers and everything about them any chance she got.

"Porto! How far along are you with that planet-sized emotion reverser? You've only got until lunchtime, you know!" If he lazed about and refused to give her what she wanted, she knew several very soft places on his hide that she could blast until he hurried up and obeyed her.

He stuck his head out of his workshop, fidgeting with every word he spoke. "I'm working on it, my queen. But I still think that you should-"

"I think you should shut up and get back to work." Why did he continually attempt to tell her things that didn't matter? Hadn't he learned his lessons by now?

Well, no matter. He'd have it ready, she'd use it on the entire planet, and scoop up every single bit of gold, silver, jewelry, and money that she could get her hands on, and the Power Rangers still wouldn't know what she was doing or how to stop her.

Maybe she'd even toss a detonator or two around, just to draw them off. _Oh, I like the sound of that._ She started to turn over the idea of just where one would really do the most damage and hit on it a second later. That very place those two annoying ex-Rangers had just left: the Youth Center. Perfect.

"It is _so_ good to be the Queen."

* * *

><p>Jason and Rocky hurried behind the Youth Center, coming to a rest as soon as they were out of sight of everyone else. "I hope Dimitria can help." Jason said; he'd only met her once, when all of the ex-Rangers were brought in to meet the new mentor. Seeing everyone else had really occupied more of his thoughts at the time, but he had the impression she was very, very different from Zordon.<p>

"You and me both." Rocky shook his head. "This is too strange, even for us."

Jason lifted his communicator, about to call for Alpha to let him know they were coming, when a splash echoed around, and a group of fish faced warriors appeared before them. Leading them was a blue-shelled creature that he remembered from Murianthus.

"Rygog." He tensed up at once, eyes flicking toward Rocky. "This is trouble. He works for Divatox."

"Yeah, I remember hearing about him." Rocky fell into a fighting stance just as Jason did. "Ready for this?"

"Always have been. What about you?" Jason knew quite well how Rocky's back pained him still.

Rocky grinned at him, eyes dancing with the first flickers of battle. "I'm always ready for this."

Two humans, without any Ranger powers at all, and one of them still recovering from a back injury from months earlier, against a group of Piranhatrons, some of the most powerful foot soldiers available in the universe, along with Rygog, known as one of the fiercest warriors in the cosmos.

Someone didn't stand a chance. And it most certainly wasn't Jason and Rocky. Jason started the battle with one of his best kicks toward Rygog; he'd seen the other fight before, and while he'd never had a chance to go up against him personally, there was something he wanted to try.

"Hey, Rygog! How do you move in that?" His foot slammed into Rygog's chest, sending the alien warrior stumbling back a pace or two. "Because it looks to me like if you landed on your back, there's no way for you to get up again!" He did a spin kick, quite gratified when it hit textbook pure and threw the other back yet again. Rygog still carried his sword and Jason didn't have one – he'd never thought he'd miss the Power Sword as much as he did right now – so he needed to make certain the other didn't get close enough to actually attack him with it.

A short distance away, Rocky did his best to fight without stressing his back out too much. He'd done as much therapy and painkillers as he could over the last few months, and he was healed enough to spar and work out, but battle was a different sort of situation altogether. Still, the more he moved, the easier he moved, and he couldn't help a grin. This was almost like old times, fighting Putties or Tengas or Cogs.

Though he could've done without the odor of rotting fish in the air.

"You know, Divatox really must be up to something nasty if she's sending a bunch of her goons after us just because we want to go to the Power Chamber!" Jason declared as he pounded yet again on Rygog's shell. He hadn't managed to get the warrior down yet, but he kept giving it his best, avoiding the swings of the sword as best that he could.

"That just means we have to get there as soon as we can!" Rocky ducked a Piranhatrons flying fist and slammed one of his own into the creature's stomach with all of his strength, knocking it backwards.

"Really, now?" Divatox's voice came from one side and both ex-Rangers backed off enough to get a look at her. "Do you two really think you can stop me?"

Jason didn't take his eyes completely off Rygog; he had no idea of how much the other weighed, but it had to be impressive if a half-dozen of his best kicks and punches couldn't get him off his feet. "What is it you're up to, Divatox?"

"Is it really that important to you? Don't you have some silly human things you should be doing?"

"If you're messing with our friends, then it is important to us!" Rocky shot back, refusing to back down. "And you are up to something!"

"I never said I wasn't." Divatox lounged against a convenient tree, watching them. "I just said that you can't stop me, and you can't."

"What are you up to?" Rocky took a step closer. "What did you do to Kat and Tommy?"

She laughed, a horrible sound that sent chills down both their spines. "You should ask what they did to me. Wrecking my wedding and daring to show off their _perfect_ relationship." Divatox all but spat the words out, a faint glow in the back of her eyes that kept them both wary. "If I can't have a social life, then why can't anyone else?"

Rocky and Jason exchanged a look. Jason looked back at Divatox, shaking his head. "You're doing whatever you're doing because you're jealous of them?"

"Have you got any better reasons why I should do anything?" Divatox snorted before she waved one hand, calling in even more Piranhatrons, and Elgar to go with them. "Now, this is what you need to worry about." She snapped her fingers and a slender device appeared between them. "I'm sure the Rangers have told you all about these. If you can find it, you can stop it. But can you find it before it goes off?"

A trickle of energy crawled all over the detonator before it vanished. "I don't really think so. _Get them_!" Divatox snapped, and the new Piranhatrons, plus Elgar, charged into the fray, even as the ones already there started fighting.

Jason took a hard hit to the side, staggering back, breath swooshing out of him. "Rocky, I think we could use a little help here!"

"So do I. Got any on you?" Rocky's back twinged harder, especially as more and more Piranhatrons circled in, and he couldn't keep his eyes on all of them. None of them fought fairly, either, and it was all he could do to avoid getting hit too many times in the back.

"I think so!" Jason spin kicked, clearing just enough room for him to tap his communicator. "Power Chamber, this is Jason. Rocky and I are being attacked by Piranhatrons. Rangers, we need your help!"

* * *

><p>Five different communicators beeped a few heartbeats later, and Alpha-6's voice came over them all.<p>

"Rangers, your friends Jason and Rocky are in some trouble behind the Youth Center. Better go lend a hand or they're gonna be mush!"

Tommy pulled his car off the course and leaped out of it. "I gotta take care of something, I'll be back as soon as I can be." He tossed his helmet toward his manager and zipped out of sight.

In mere moments, five different colored beams of light touched down behind the Youth Center, to where Jason and Rocky still fought their hardest against Divatox's minions, resolving into the forms of five already morphed Power Rangers. The evil queen herself still remained where she was, throwing orders here and there that few of them listened to, since they all amounted to the same thing of 'beat them up!'

"Hey, Divatox!" Tommy shouted as soon as they touched down. "Why don't you have your goons pick on someone else for a change?"

"Oh, like all of you? I'm all for it!" Divatox snapped one hand toward the Rangers. "Go get them!"

The school of Piranhatrons shot toward the new arrivals, leaving Rocky and Jason to catch their breath for the moment. Rygog and Elgar surged along, blades waving in the air.

"What is she up to this time?" Tanya wondered, ducking out of the way of one wildly waving fish fist and ramming her shoulder against another one. "She's never attacked anyone like this before."

"Once we get this done, we can ask her." Adam put in, whirling around another one of the fish warriors. "She'll probably want to stick around and gloat a little."

Kat laughed a little, though there didn't appear to be a great deal of humor in it. "They're all like that. And I don't even know why."

"I don't think even they do." Tommy threw in his own opinion on the matter. For a brief moment, the Red and Pink Rangers stood and looked at each other. The moment lasted no more than that, since Rygog and Elgar slammed into the two of them.

"Hey, you two! Auntie D went to a lot of trouble to break you up, so no going back now!" Elgar declared, kicking Kat as hard as he could. The Pink Ranger moved away from the blow just in the nick of time, swinging back with all of her own strength.

"What are you talking about?" Behind her helmet, something stirred within Kat at those words. She shoved it aside for now; it was more important to finish the fight than worry over a relationship that ended that morning anyway. Still, it wasn't easy to not think about, and the question came out of her before she could decide not to say it.

Elgar laughed, swiping his sword at her again. "Just what I said! Come on, you're not that stupid, are you?"

"Elgar, shut up!" Divatox appeared behind him, seizing one of his large ears between her fingertips. "If I wanted them to know, I would've said something!"

Tommy shoved his way past Rygog to Divatox. "Well, I want to know what you're talking about. So spill it!"

"Sorry, Rangers." Divatox waved everyone back quickly. "But I think we've had enough of storytime for today. Maybe you'll figure out everything later on. What do you say we meet up around lunch?"

Without waiting for an answer, she swept all of her forces away in a huge teleportation circle. The Rangers stared at where she was for a few moments, before all powering down and turning toward their friends.

"What was that all about?" Justin wanted to know. "I think that's probably the weirdest fight I've ever seen."

"We could tell you stories." Jason grinned at the youngest Ranger before he looked back up at Tommy. "I think we do need to talk, though. Got any time?"

Tommy shook his head right away. "Sorry, I need to get back to the track. Unless the world's about to end if we don't."

"I don't think it is, but-" Rocky interrupted Jason before the other could finish what he was trying to say.

"Divatox set a detonator. Not sure where, but there's one around somewhere. That's more important."

"Great." Tommy bit back a sigh. "We'd better get to the Power Chamber and see what we can find out from there."

Jason shifted closer. "We're going with you. We found out Divatox might be up to something and I want to ask Dimitria if she can check into it."

For a moment, it looked as if Tommy might turn down the offer. Then he shrugged. "All right. Whatever it is, it's important enough to her that she attack you guys anyway. Better safe than sorry."

Seven shimmering beams of light lifted out from behind the Youth Center, arcing across the sky to land in the Power Chamber. The moment they did, Jason stepped forward.

"Dimitria, I think Divatox has something to do with Kat and Tommy having broken up this morning. She's bent out of shape because of what happened on Murianthus still, and Elgar said something about her being responsible for it anyway."

"And she's put a detonator somewhere in town to distract everyone from finding out what's going on." Rocky put in his own comment.

"Yo, yo, yo, Rangers…and ex-Rangers!" Alpha-6 waved his arms quickly. "One thing at a time. Detonator, you say?"

"Yeah." Before Jason could say anything else on the matter, Tanya and Adam both moved to the back of the room.

"We've got this." Each of them picked up something Jason recalled having been described to him as a Turbo Navigator and teleported out.

Dimitria's warm gaze looked down on them all. "What does Divatox have to do with Katherine and Thomas's affections for one another?"

"Just like I said." Jason kept an eye on his friends, not liking how they didn't even look at each other. That wasn't like them. There was always some level of awareness between Tommy and Kat; not a constant touch, but a subtle acknowledgment similar to what he'd seen between himself and Emily. "She did something. I just don't know what it is or how to fix it."

Alpha shuffled over to one of the monitors. "This could be what she was doing down here last night, Dimitria. It would be just like her to mess around with someone else's life."

"Do you not think this could be a natural progression of their relationship? For do not many such end soon?" Dimitria posed the questions, still with an intent look on the ex-Rangers.

Jason folded his arms over his chest. "No way. I mean, a lot of people do break up, but Tommy, don't you remember?" He glanced quickly at his best friend, who only looked back at him blankly. "Just last week you asked what I thought about you giving Kat a promise ring."

He glanced for a moment to Kat, wondering what she thought of that, and winced a little at the equally blank look on her own face. It didn't look right at all, which spoke far more eloquently than anything else about Divatox being at the root of all of this.

"Alpha-6, could you scan both of them to determine if their minds have been affected by an outside source?"

At Dimitria's word, Alpha rummaged around until he found one of the scanners and waved it over both of them. Everyone else stood in silence, waiting for the results. A series of beeps emitted from the device and Alpha checked the readout.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a winner here. Can't be sure of what caused it, but there's some kind of altered brainwaves or something going on here." Alpha peered more at the screen. "It'll take a while to figure it out, but you guys still should be in love with each other."

Kat and Tommy glanced only briefly toward one another, then back to Dimitria. Kat spoke up first. "I don't feel like I'm in love with him."

"Same here. I mean, I don't feel like I'm in love with her." Tommy scratched his head and shrugged. "I'm going to help look for that detonator."

"Yeah, me too." Kat stepped over to get her own Turbo Navigator. The two streaks of light that were her and Tommy vanished, each going in a different direction once they left the Power Chamber itself.

Rocky drew in a deep breath, clenching his fists. "How long is it going to take to figure out what Divatox did?"

"Shouldn't be too long." Alpha hooked up the scanner to one of the computers. "You guys should probably head back to Angel Grove. We'll keep an eye out for any trouble on this end."

Jason nodded, somewhat reluctantly. He didn't like this, but there wasn't much else that they could do for now.

* * *

><p>"Porto!" The word exploded out of Divatox almost as soon as she arrived back on the Subcraft. "Is it done yet?"<p>

"It's not lunchtime yet, my queen." Porto hedged. "And we still need to choose a monster that can defend it from the Power Rangers."

"I don't care that it isn't lunchtime. I want it ready and I want it ready now. And just pick some monster, it doesn't matter which one." Divatox stalked back and forth, muttering darker words under her breath. She hated it when people found out her plans too soon, and if she hadn't shut Elgar up, that was exactly what would've happened.

_How are we related?_ That probably could be listed under questions that they would never have an answer to, along with how Elgar managed to get himself out of the volcano and back to the Subcraft.

Porto hesitated before he answered. "It will be ready shortly." He ducked back into his workshop, strange and loud noises coming from it moments later. Divatox ignored them all, trying to decide instead which banks she would get to first. Or perhaps she could delve into some old museums for rare treasures there. There were so many wonderful options. All she would have to do was fight off the Power Rangers.

Unless, of course, the device could also make certain they lost interest in protecting the Earth.

* * *

><p>"I think…I think…" Tanya looked around, trying to find anything that even vaguely resembled a detonator. Divatox was very skilled at hiding them due to all the practice she had, but the Rangers were just as skilled at finding them. "I think I have no idea of where it could be."<p>

Adam offered a rueful grin. "Neither do I. This one's really well-hidden." He didn't say what they both knew; that they had to find it or wherever it was hidden would be revealed with a very loud bang and quite a bit of damage.

"It's kind of weird that Divatox would do that to Kat and Tommy." Tanya mused as they kept searching. It was somewhere in the vicinity of the Youth Center; they'd pegged it down that much at least. Kat and Tommy were checking farther out, just to be safe, while Justin looked around inside the Youth Center itself. He'd told them everything that happened after they left the Power Chamber.

"I guess some people are never happy if anyone else is happy." Adam checked his readouts again. All he could be certain of was that it was in range of the Navigator, not where it was or what it could be disguised as. Much less how much time they had before it blew.

_Probably a good thing she likes to use them as distractions and not to actually blow up something._ She always left enough time on her detonators so that the Rangers _could_ find them and get rid of them. He wasn't going to complain about that.

They had to hurry on this; not just because of the detonator running down, but there was only so much time that any of them could spend away from their jobs. Adam saw more and more why Rangers were best chosen as teenagers, at least on Earth. Even though most of them technically still _were_ teenagers, they didn't have the same free time they had before graduation.

Something brilliant all but exploded in the sky and the first thought through Adam's mind was that the detonator had gone off. He and Taniya both looked up to see what could only be one of Divatox's monsters hovering up there, a huge creature that resembled some kind of flying dump truck. In its hands it held some kind of huge device.

"All right, Power Rangers!" Divatox's voice rang from all over. He didn't know how she did it and he didn't care. "It's time for all of you, and everyone else on this miserable little planet, to stop caring! Hit it, Dumptron!"

_Man, Divatox is scraping the bottom of the barrel with this guy._ That was all Adam had time to think before the monster reached to hit a button on the device. A pale beam, almost nothing more than a ripple through the air, began to pour outward from the needle tip of the device, washing over anyone it could reach.

"What is that thing?" Thoughts of the detonator put aside for the moment, the five Rangers gathered outside of the Youth Center, doing what they could to avoid being hit for right now.

"No idea, Justin." Tanya shook her head. "But I don't think getting hit by it's a good idea."

"Yo, Rangers!" Alpha's voice came over the communicator. "That thing's a bigger version of what hit Kat and Tommy. If it nails you, then you stop caring about whatever's really important to you. You gotta get rid of it!"

That told them all that they needed to know. Kat hesitated, though. "What about the detonator?"

"Don't worry about it." This was Jason's voice over the communicator now. "Alpha's giving us what your Navigators picked up so we can track it down while you guys take care of that monster."

"Thanks, guys." Tommy's voice warmed more than it had since this entire debacle began. "Be careful."

"We're just looking for something that can blow up a couple of city blocks. You're fighting Divatox's monster. We're not the ones who need to be careful." Rocky teased.

The five Rangers got ready to get down to business. "Shift into Turbo!" Tommy declared, and the battle began in moments.

Dumptron kept on blasting anyone that got in range; the moment the beam hit someone, they stopped in their tracks, a vague look entering their eyes, before moving onward, a vital spark missing now. Tommy tried not to look too hard at them; it reminded him far too much of how he felt right now every time he looked at Kat. It wasn't a huge ripping gash in his soul, but more of a faint little twitch that something wasn't right in his world, and he didn't know what to do about it except not look at her.

"Red Ranger!" Dumptron whirled and released one arm from holding the device to point at him with one taloned finger. "So I hear you dumped your girlfriend! Now I'm gonna dump you!"

"You know, one day I'm not going to have to listen to all these ridiculous puns you monsters come up with!" Tommy groused; he could hardly wait for that day to come. Just another couple of months…

He didn't have time for another thought, since the monster charged toward him swiftly, knocking him backwards with one hit. He stayed on his feet, though, and rushed around to try attacking from another angle. The other Rangers joined in, weapons, fists, and feet slashing at the monster and trying to get hold of the device all at the same time.

There weren't many battles where Tommy couldn't figure out what was going on for the most part. He generally kept his head in them and watched everything to some degree. This one was the exception. Piranhatrons swarmed everywhere, making it even more difficult to keep track of what was going on. Rygog and Elgar joining in the confusion didn't make matters any better.

What he did manage to do was kick Dumptron's arm hard enough to knock the device out of it, sending it spinning to the ground. He didn't hesitate another second; regardless of what he felt at the moment, no one deserved to have what they felt for anyone or anything taken out of their control. Tommy pulled out his Turbo Sword and slashed it through the device, cleaving it in two.

All over the city, the people affected stopped where they were, looking around curiously as affections they thought for a few minutes didn't matter anymore surged back through them. Some few could still see the Power Rangers fighting the monster, and were experienced enough to realize what had happened and that it was a very good idea to move out of the way. So they did just that.

* * *

><p>"Okay, it's supposed to be around here somewhere." Rocky looked around for anything out of place. They could still hear the sounds of battle, thin and tinny through the Youth Center's walls, and it made him want to get this done all the quicker.<p>

Jason moved closer to the bar, noticing that Jerome hadn't moved the box of ingredients he'd put there earlier yet. Something tickled in the back of his mind and he hurried over there, Rocky only a few steps behind him.

"Got anything?"

"I don't know." Jason peered into the box, trying to remember what he'd seen there before and what he hadn't. It only took a moment to put it all together.

What he hadn't seen was the slender detonator and its ominous red numbers counting down with under a minute to spare. He snatched it out quickly and pelted for the outside, hissing into his communicator in the same breath.

"Alpha, I've got it!" Quick as he could, he tossed it high into the air, just as the Power Rangers sliced through Dumptron. The explosion of the detonator and that of the monster mixed together, and Jason relaxed. They'd won again.

* * *

><p>"Everyone who got zapped by the big machine is back to normal. Now we just have to fix up these two." Alpha gestured to where Kat and Tommy stood awkwardly next to one another.<p>

Jason rubbed his chin, staring at them. "Can we? Wouldn't we have to destroy the little one too?" That would be all but impossible; Divatox likely wouldn't let it out of her sight.

Alpha shook his head at that. "Not according to the scans I did. There are two ways to put things back to normal. One of them is just to wait. The effects of that machine wear off in a couple of days."

Tension neither Kat nor Tommy wanted to acknowledge eased out of them, and everyone else. "What's the other way?" Kat wondered. She wasn't sure if the nervousness that slid through her was because of Divatox's machine's effects or her own reactions. She hated feeling like that; it reminded her too much of being Rita's pawn.

If Alpha had possessed a mouth capable of smiling, every last one of the teens there knew that he would have. "Simple. All you two gotta do is plant one on each other and you'll be good as new!"

Kat and Tommy shot a quick look between them. Kat spoke up first. "All right." The part of her that she knew was affected by the device didn't want to. Why bother? What did it matter?

The part of her that didn't want to let control slip away to anyone else knew better.

Tommy only nodded before he stepped toward her. Their arms slid around one another and heads tilted closer. Their lips touched one another, gently at first, then with increasing passion. Their arms tightened and everyone else felt a sudden urge to look away and give them some privacy.

* * *

><p>"I don't believe this! They did it again!" Divatox stomped up and down the bridge, trying to figure out where it had all gone wrong. "Porto! This is all your fault! I don't know how yet, but it's <em>all your fault!<em>"

Porto shuffled his feet and looked down. It wasn't the admittance of guilt she wanted, but she'd take it for right now. She turned toward her periscope, wondering if the Rangers had yet returned to somewhere she could spy on them.

"At least Kat and Tommy are broken up. That's _something_!" She'd take what she could from this disaster.

"Uh, my queen…" Porto shifted more. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

Divatox waved a hand; she had more time to listen to his babble now. "What is it?"

"The device's effects aren't permanent. They'll wear off in just a couple of days. Or sooner, under the right circumstances."

Divatox's scream of rage could be heard on the far side of Angel Grove. The only one that dwarfed it was the one she howled when she saw Kat and Tommy snuggled up to one another in his apartment after his successful race the following weekend.

**The End**


	3. Time To Move On

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Power Rangers Zeo/Turbo/Dino Thunder  
><strong>Title:<strong> Seven Kisses: Chapter 3: Time To Move On  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Kat x Tommy  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> chapter: 8,011||story: 26,356  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance||**Rated:** PG-13  
><strong>Challenge:<strong> 7snogs: Kat x Tommy: Double Night Challenge: prompt #3, new  
><strong>Notes:<strong> This takes place sometime in the gaps of **Passing the Torch**, parts 1 and 2, with some modifications, as well as after the episode.  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another. Kiss #3: Everything has to end, sooner or later.

* * *

><p>Time slipped through their fingers. They all knew that they had to find their replacements; Dimitria had made it clear that the days were counting down. She hadn't seemed to stress it that much with Justin, which didn't surprise the elder four Turbo Rangers. He'd barely had his powers four months, after all. Whoever succeeded them would have at least one quasi-experienced Ranger on the team.<p>

But finding those replacements remained the hardest part. There were so many people in Angel Grove who fit the qualifications, being trustworthy, of good heart, sound mind, and a healthy body, and yet none of them really clicked to Kat, no matter how much she tried to make her decision.

_I don't think it was this hard for Kim._ She knew the situation there was incredibly different, but that didn't make it any easier.

She'd spent an hour on the phone with Kim, in fact, just the night before, trying to get any sort of advice from her predecessor on what could make a great Pink Ranger.

"You'll find the right person. The Power kind of makes sure that you all will. Don't worry so much about it." Kim's warm laugh echoed in Kat's ears even now. "Trust me. You'll see."

She had to believe Kim was right. Looking back at the way the power had passed from person to person, it really was. Whenever a Ranger or Rangers chose to move on, someone who was perfect for the position turned up. So one of those she'd been watching would step out in some fashion and she would make her choice then.

Until then, they had something else they were doing: planning for one last campout together before the great transfer and beginning to spread out into the world.

Kat tried not to think about the plane ticket kept in a box in her room at her parents' house. One way to London. She still couldn't wrap her head around the fact this was actually going to happen. She would not only leave the home that she'd made here over the last couple of years, but she'd be doing so to pursue a career in dancing.

_And taking college classes while I'm at it._ Kat loved dancing, but she knew that a dancer's career was only a few years long at most. Some went on to teach, and some did go beyond the expected, but she still wanted to do something else with her life. Architecture and design called to her very clearly.

"I think we're just about ready." Tommy tossed the last of his own bags into his truck and looked over at her. She pulled herself quickly out of her thoughts and offered him a warm smile.

"I think so too." She stepped over to him, welcoming his warm arms around her, and touched her lips to his.

They still hadn't talked about how their relationship would go once she was in England and he was still here in Angel Grove. Whenever they were alone together, the concept loomed up between them, the elephant in the room, what they knew and simply didn't refer to in any way.

_There's too much that we're not talking about._ It didn't feel wrong to ignore all of it, but it didn't feel right either. They would, sooner or later. There wasn't any way to get around it. But sooner or later wasn't now, and now Kat wished they'd already said something to clear the air.

Tommy squeezed her one more time, then pulled away to get into the driver's seat. "I kind of wish Jason could've come with us." "He's busy, you know that." Kat moved over to get in on the other side. "You two can have your own little guy campout later," she teased, a hint of merriment floating around her lips.

From the way he perked up, Kat had a feeling that campout would happen the moment both the boys had a weekend free. She would have to thank Jason for it, once it happened.

For now, however, she leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to get her thoughts into something that resembled order. There wasn't enough time. There'd been time and then it vanished. Where it had all gone, she had no idea. It just wasn't there anymore.

"Still no luck finding anyone?" Tommy asked, with something of the air of someone who would fill up the empty space in a conversation whether he actually wanted to or not.

"No. No one seems right. You?" She knew the answer even before she asked the question. How could it be anything else?

"No." As she'd suspected. Tommy kept on driving, his eyes and mind properly on the road. "We have to pick someone soon."

A shiver ran all through Kat at the words. She knew their truth like he did, but hearing it said out loud made it seem so much more real. That was why she hadn't tried to say it herself. She didn't want it to be real.

Being a Power Ranger had been the center of all of their lives for so long. Some more than others, of course-Tanya had only had a year or so to compare to Tommy's term of service-but it meant the same thing to all of them. Being part of the battle to save the world was what their lives had been about all this time. Being without that kept Kat's eyes open at night, staring up into the shadows of her room.

_Did I do a good enough job? Did I make up for what happened?_ The questions echoed in her mind repeatedly and she didn't have answers to them. Could she make up for them? Was it even possible? Would living a normal life without powers help to do that?

Would Divatox leave them alone? None of their other enemies had ever bothered any of the former Rangers on any kind of a regular basis. Divatox _had_ kidnapped Jason and Kim, but that was a one-time event. Maybe if she needed someone else as a sacrifice.

_Well, if she needs a __**virgin**__ sacrifice, Tommy and I don't qualify for that anymore._ Her cheeks heated up at that and she turned her attention a little more aggressively toward the scenery going by. _This is driving me insane. I think I want to give up being a Ranger just to get it over with by now._

She looked over when Tommy's hand wrapped around her own. "I really wish we didn't have to do this."

"So do I. But you know what Dimitria said." Tommy sighed, tightening his grip as he spoke. "We can't stay Power Rangers forever. No one can."

"Right." Kat ran the fingers of her free hand over Tommy's knuckles. "We have to go have lives of our own." She could understand it. That didn't mean it made all of this any easier.

If they'd just found someone right away, someone who embodied everything that Kat knew a Power Ranger should be, then it wouldn't have been nearly this hard. All of this stress was just because they didn't have anyone chosen, and the last day was almost on them.

Perhaps that was why she finally said what hadn't been said before. "Do you want to stay together…after?"

Tommy didn't say anything for almost a mile, and Kat wondered if she'd have to repeat it. He spoke up before she could. "Yes. I love you, Kat."

"But…" She didn't pull her hand away. She didn't want to. She wanted to keep feeling his warmth there for so long as she possibly could. "Are you sure?"

"You know I am. If we ever break up, it's not going to be because we're far apart." A grin touched his lips, just visible from the corner of her eye. "Besides, it's not like we can't ever see each other again. I'll get time off from the track and you can come over during the off-season, right?"

Kat had to laugh. After all of that fretting and worrying, just a few simple words broke through the confusion that gripped her so hard. "Right." She would start saving for a plane ticket home as soon as she got there. She might not get to visit as often as she would've liked, but she _would_ see him again. "Besides, we can write to each other and make phone calls."

She knew, and she knew that he knew, it wouldn't be as easy as all that. There was so much that could put a strain on a relationship with thousands of miles between them. They both had seen it happen before. But she wanted to fight for this as much as he did.

"And e-mail. Don't forget that." Neither of them were especially computer literate, but it wouldn't be that hard to figure out.

"Right. And who knows maybe we can get Dimitria to let us teleport in every now and then." Zordon would have, Kat knew, though they'd never asked for something like this from their new mentor. Even if she didn't, they had other options.

Tommy dropped her hand as they came to a tricky stretch of road that would lead them to their chosen camping site. Kat ran her fingers over where he'd touched her, remembering the feeling of his callused hands on her own warm skin. Even with all of their plans to stay in touch, she wanted to remember what it felt like to _touch_ him. She didn't want that to fade out of her memory for a single moment.

Inch by inch, the lines of tension that had held onto both of them for the last couple of weeks eased up. Some still remained, but that wasn't unexpected, given their state of not having chosen their successors. Kat couldn't help but wonder what Tommy really thought of all of this. He hadn't stopped being a Ranger for more than a few months at a time since the day Rita chose him. Being one was woven into his heart and soul.

Kat's thoughts wandered from place to place as they drove out of the city and deeper into the woods where Tanya, Adam, and Justin already awaited them, probably up to their ears in camping preparations by now. Given their differing schedules, it only made sense for some of them to go first and get the tents and campfire set up before the others arrived.

She had to admit she wished their other friends would be there as well, even the ones she'd never actually met. The thought of seeing people such as Zack or Trini, who were only names and pictures to her, sent an anticipatory thrill through her. She knew why, too: Tommy. They were his friends, and she wanted to meet _all_ of his friends and she hoped that they liked her. From what she'd heard, she believed she'd like them.

"You think Divatox is going to get up to something while we're out of town?" Tommy asked, his thoughts on tangents far from her own. Kat laughed.

"I think it would be a lot stranger if she _didn't_ do something while we're gone." Thank goodness for teleporting. Whenever Divatox struck, they'd be able to get back in time to do something about it. The only real problem would be the inevitable stress of waiting for it to happen.

That would be one definite benefit of no longer being Power Rangers. They could go off on trips like this and not have to worry about if someone tried to destroy the world yet again. That was probably why Dimitria insisted on them passing the power to someone else. No one could, or should, live with that kind of stress in their lives forever.

"When are they expecting us again?" Tommy asked, glancing at the clock.

"Not for another half hour or so. We should be there in plenty of time." Kat reached for her water bottle, thinking once again of all the girls she'd seen at Angel Grove High over the last few months, all of those who might possibly be able to be the Pink Ranger. She didn't know why they didn't fit in her mind. There wasn't anything actually wrong with them. She just didn't think they were the one.

Well, for now she'd put the whole topic to rest. There wasn't much else that she could do that she hadn't done. Whoever her successor was, she'd find her. Somehow.

* * *

><p>Of all the ways to have a bad day. Tommy struggled harder, yanking at the ropes that bound him over the pit. He'd had quite a few bad days in his life, most of them related to one villain or another, but this one more or less took the cake.<p>

_She would do this today._ Divatox couldn't have waited until next week or done it last week. No, today, _the_ day, when they had a camping trip _and_ a countdown to figuring out their successors, was when she decided it was time to take him out. _Yeah, like no one's ever tried this before. Wonder if I should give her Gasket's phone number._

He'd figure that out another time. Right now, he needed to find a way to get out of here before those rats ate through the rope all the way. The one it started out with now had a companion up there, the two of them nibbling and sniffing at the peanut butter Divatox had smeared on it. From the squeaks he could hear, there would be more soon. Just what he didn't need. Where was a cat when he needed one?

Rethinking what he'd just thought, Tommy managed something that sort of resembled a choked off laugh. _Kat. I wish you __**were**__ here._ She might not be able to change into a cat anymore, but at least that would mean he wasn't in danger of falling down into this pit of whatever the heck it was. He couldn't remember what Divatox and her mother called it. Nor did he especially care.

Divatox's mother. That was a shock; he'd never actually thought that she had one. He'd sort of envisioned her crawling out from under a rock somewhere, much like Elgar must have. He couldn't imagine what the rest of the family must be like. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to try.

He strained at the ropes again, glancing toward the cave opening as he did. The guards Divatox left stared back at him. He knew he could take them once he got out, or at least he could have before having crashed his truck. At least he had insurance on it, and living in Angel Grove meant that 'I was caught up in a monster attack' was something the company would reimburse him for.

What worried him more than anything at the moment except the fact he was about to fall into a hellpit was Kat. He did his best not to think about her too much and to put all of his efforts into escape, but her face floated in the back of his mind nevertheless. He'd done what he could to get her out of danger, but he didn't know if it had worked. Had the Piranhatrons captured her too? Was she somewhere he couldn't see, maybe being forced to watch this? Was that why Divatox had left instead of remaining to watch him fall?

He wouldn't put it past the space pirate. Anything that could cause them more trouble was right on her to-do list.

Tommy tried to calm himself. He could make it through this. He _would_ make it through this. Then he'd find Kat and they'd finish up their camping trip and find their successors and go on to have a normal life.

A normal life. He'd never thought he'd want one as much as he did now. After the last few years, he'd grown so used to being a Power Ranger that he'd never thought of being anything else. Now he wanted something else. He'd looked death in the eyes enough times already.

What he wanted was a life with Kat. He wasn't going to deny her the dream of going to London, no matter what, but he knew what he wanted. And he had something in his pocket he wanted to give her.

Neither one of them was ready for a full on commitment to marriage. He knew that. Too much lay ahead of both of them, he with his racing and her with her dancing. But in the future, a hazy kind of dream that he'd found himself thinking more and more of over the last few months, he hoped the time would come. Until then, what he wanted to do was ask her for a promise, to at least keep him in mind.

He'd meant everything he'd told her in the truck. He loved her. He wanted to stay with her, even when all those thousands of miles separated them. But he didn't want to keep her attached beyond reason, just in case.

It wasn't the first time in his life that he and the one he loved were far apart and matters fell through. He didn't want it to be the second, but if Kat found someone else, then he'd do exactly what he did with Kimberly, and let her go.

How could he do anything else?

He tilted his head back to try and get an idea of how close he was to freeing himself. He wasn't at all surprised to find that the answer hadn't changed from the moment he'd been tied up: nowhere close at all. Divatox had actually done a good job on this trap. Except for the part where he wasn't going to let it work, of course.

Light gleamed off his communicator and he did his best to wriggle a finger closer to it. If he could touch the right button, he could teleport out of here entirely, ropes and all.

The hard part of that was that he didn't have nearly enough wiggle room for his fingers as he needed. He could almost brush the device with the tip of one finger, but he wasn't near the right button. _I think I should call up Billy and see if we can get these things redesigned._

Well, he wouldn't actually need to _call_ him, but talking to him about this would definitely be something to take care of as soon as possible. The new Rangers might have to worry about this one of these days. He had no plans to leave his successor hanging around like he was.

He kicked and struggled harder, trying to get any sort of leverage in order to do _something_. He wasn't going to hang here like a piece of meat until the ropes were eaten through and he fell. He had to believe Kat was safe, and even if she wasn't, that Justin, Tanya, and Adam would find out what was going on. Dimitria and Alpha were keeping an eye on them, given how close to the time it was, and they would surely know what was going on with him and Kat.

He just had to wait, that was all. The problem with that was that Tommy wasn't very good at waiting.

If he thought it would've done any good, he would've tried to trick one of the Piranhatrons into letting him go. But none of were smart enough to get tricked in the first place.

Something would work out. It had to.

* * *

><p>No sooner had Flamite gone up in a cloud of fire and smoke did the Power Rangers teleport back to their headquarters. The moment they landed, Kat hurried over to Tommy, worry written in her eyes.<p>

"Are you all right?" She knew that he had to be; he wouldn't have been able to join the fight if he wasn't, but she had to ask anyway. She had to know. "What happened?"

"Divatox." He shrugged; it wasn't anything they couldn't have guessed. "She had me over some kind of pit." It took him a moment to remember the name. "The Vortex of Eternal Doom and Sorrow."

Adam blinked and shook his head. "Where do they get names like that from?"

"You got me." Tommy shrugged again and Kat had to agree; for all of the months she'd spent as Rita's pawn, she still didn't get some of the way that beings of evil thought. "Anyway, I got lucky. These two kids found me and managed to get me out of there."

Kat took a step toward him. "Two kids…a boy and a girl?" Ever since she'd seen Cassie, something warm glowed in the deepest pit of her heart, the part of her where the power lay nestled close and caring.

"That's right." Tommy's lips twitched. "I think I know who I'm going to choose. T.J. really struck me as the right guy for the job."

Kat's smile widened as well. "I know how you feel." She glanced down to her hand and twisted it for a moment, calling up her Turbo Key. "What about you guys?"

Tanya and Adam exchanged a quick look before they nodded. "We've got ours picked too."

Dimitria's warm voice spoke up from the tube. "If you have made your decisions, then the time has come at last."

All four of the elder Rangers nodded in agreement. One by one, those who hadn't yet called up their Keys and set them down. Kat brushed her fingers over hers.

"It's hard to believe." In a matter of moments, all of the indecision and doubts she'd had about who to choose vanished without a trace. She could already see Kim's amused face in her mind's eye, and hear her voice reminding her that she'd told her so already.

"I'm ready." Tommy's fingers brushed across hers and she looked up toward him.

"So am I." And she was. Far more so than she'd ever imagined she would've been just a little while ago.

* * *

><p>Once the choices were made, it still took another day before the actual ceremony happened. They needed time to contact certain other interested parties, and to speak to the newly chosen Rangers themselves. Being a Power Ranger was a choice that could only be offered, never truly forced upon another person. Even Tommy had had a chance to give up the Green Ranger powers when he'd first been freed of Rita's spell.<p>

But the hour struck and one by one the Power Rangers (or ex-Rangers, as they technically were now) entered the chamber to commence the grand ceremony.

The moment Tommy, Kat, Adam, and Tanya entered the room, a clear voice rang across it. "Hey, guys!"

"Kim!" Kat's eyes lit up at the sight of her friend and the two young women hurried over to squeeze hands. "Glad you could make it!"

The brunette grinned at them all. "There wasn't any way that I'd miss this. None of us would." She glanced over her shoulder to where five other figures stood ranged: Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy, Aisha, and Rocky, then looked back to Kat. "I told you that you'd find the right person, didn't I?"

"You did." Kat didn't mind being told 'I told you so', especially when she had.

"I can't wait to talk to them. This is so exciting!"

"Indeed it is, Kimberly." A well-known and well-loved voice spoke up from the second energy tube in the room. Everyone grinned at the sight of Zordon and Alpha-5; it had been far too long.

As much as they all wanted to get caught up, something far more important had to happen first. Kim stepped back to join the others, while the new former ex-Rangers stood and waited as Dimitria began her speech.

Kat knew that Cassie had accepted being a Power Ranger. Dimitria would've told her otherwise. That didn't stop a certain amount of nervousness as the new Rangers stepped forward to be welcomed by their predecessors, one that didn't fade until her eyes firmly caught sight of the young woman now wearing the Pink Turbo uniform.

For a moment her gaze flicked across the room to where Kim stood watching. Was this what her own predecessor had felt when passing the Pink Power Coin to her? Something like it, at least, Kat was certain. A merging of concern and pride, of knowing that the person you'd chosen couldn't have any idea of what was going to happen to them, but knowing they would face it with pride and strength.

All too soon the ceremony ended, the new Rangers properly aware of what they would have to face, and their choice to see it through confirmed. Cassie, T.J., Ashley, Carlos, and Justin came down from the crystal dais, demorphed into their ordinary selves now, and looked at the others standing there, curiosity written over four sets of features.

"Guys, when Dimitria called us a family, she wasn't kidding." Tommy gestured to them all. "We're all ex-Rangers here. And if you need help, just call us and we'll do what we can."

Introductions and quiet conversations whispered into existence around them soon. Tommy only let it go on for so long before he tugged Kat over to a quiet corner of the room.

"Hey, do you want to get out of here? I think the camping trip's a bust but how about some dinner? It's just about time for it."

She nodded, her stomach offering its own opinion on the matter as a throaty little roar that sent scorching heat up her cheeks.

"Guys," she turned toward everyone else quickly, "Tommy and I are going to get something to eat. See you later."

Everyone waved, with varying levels of attention, and Tommy caught her hand in his before they teleported out for what they knew could be the last time. Any other visits would be because of necessity more than anything else, and no one knew when, or if, they would be needed.

* * *

><p>Long shadows of night stretched all around them as they headed toward their favorite restaurant, a quiet place tucked into a small corner of Angel Grove, known for its cozy atmosphere and delicious food. It served an amazing variety of dishes, and the half-dozen times Kat and Tommy had come here, she was certain she'd found a new item on the menu every time.<p>

No reservations were required and they were soon shown into a table in the back. Other diners sat at their own, their conversations providing a low, musical backdrop. Kat closed her eyes, leaned back, and let out a deep, heartfelt sigh. She didn't want to cry, but after everything that happened in the last few days, she wasn't surprised to feel tears pricking at her eyes.

Tommy's hand, as it so often did, closed around her own. "It's all right," he murmured to her, and that was what she needed to hear. Slow tears slipped down her cheeks, burning their way through her. A soft brush of fabric turned out to be a handkerchief and she picked it up, wiping her eyes and cheeks. She didn't know where he found it; she didn't think he carried one. But there it was all the same.

"This is really silly of me." She hadn't even cried when they'd graduated, though her parents both had. This meant so much more, though. It was something of a graduation in and of itself, a crossroads.

"No, it isn't." Tommy ducked his head for a moment before he caught her gaze, warm brown eyes looking into bright blue. "When I lost my powers the first time, I did the same thing. I went home that night and I thought I was fine. I thought I'd be all right with never worrying about hearing that call again. I was wrong." He shook his head. "I thought I'd never stop, actually. It was like part of me was torn out of me. I never really felt right until I got them back, either."

Kat slowly nodded, sniffling as she did. She didn't entirely feel that way, but she understood what he said. _He lost his powers, he didn't give them up. That can make a difference._ But it was close enough.

Seeing her glass of water in front of her, she took a long drink, trying her best to get everything sorted out in her head. She'd thought she'd done this before the transfer ever happened, but even after it being a solid reality, everything inside of her was jumbled and out of sorts.

"I think I'm going to wake up tomorrow and not know what to do with myself." She wrapped her fingers around her communicator. Traditionally, or so her contacts with Jason, Rocky, and Billy had shown her, ex-Rangers only wore those if they were still going to and from the Power Chamber regularly.

"We'll figure it out." Tommy promised. He hesitated for a moment, one hand going to his jacket pocket, then looked at her. "Kat…Katherine…"

"Hm?" Kat dabbed at her eyes one more time before turning to look at him. He didn't always call her by her full name so she wondered what was on his mind.

Tommy didn't say anything. What he did was pull a small box out of his pocket and set it in front of her. Kat stared at it for nearly a minute before she picked it up and opened it. She knew it was a ring before she did, but seeing it glimmer in the light caught her breath in her throat.

"I hope you like it. Jason and Kim helped me pick it out when they were here before graduation." Tommy fidgeted some, peeking a little at her. "It's a promise ring. I love you, Kat, and I'd really like to marry you someday, if you want that too."

Kat slowly plucked the ring from the white velvet cushion and watched the light gleam off the tiny emerald there. "It's my birthstone," she murmured, admiring the beauty of it.

"Yeah. I thought you'd like that." He fidgeted even more, picking his napkin up and putting it down. She could all but see the nervousness leaking off of him as she reached for his hand.

"It's beautiful." She offered him the ring, a small smile curving her lips up. "Would you put it on me?"

For a moment she thought Tommy stopped breathing. Then he took the ring, picked up her right hand, and slid it onto her ring finger there. She made a note to find out his ring size from one of their friends and get him one as well. _I should've thought of this myself._ She'd had a thousand other problems on her mind, she knew, but she still berated herself just a little.

Tommy folded his hand over hers once the ring was on her finger and they stared at one another, eyes full of a mutual joy. The ring felt right on her hand, as if it were a tiny part of her that she hadn't missed until it was there and didn't need to be anymore.

Their meal came shortly afterward, and Kat couldn't have been more grateful. She wanted at least a little time to sort through everything and get it all put together properly in her head. The ring on her finger wasn't unwelcome by any means, but it did throw another mental wrench into her works. Another point she would need to calculate into her future, as it were.

Promises weren't always kept, but she wanted this one to be, no matter how long it took. The future lay before them, mostly unmapped, waiting for them to find their way through it all.

* * *

><p>"Are you going to tell your parents?" Tommy asked as they headed for her place, hand in hand.<p>

"I think so. I just don't know when." Kat knew they approved of Tommy, but this was still a step, and it was something she did want them to know about. Even if they didn't approve, she wouldn't have let that interfere with their choices. She would just have taken more caution in what they did and where.

Their path led them by Angel Grove Lake, and both of them sent a wary glance in that direction. Divatox was probably still smarting from their destruction of Flamite and the loss of a chance to kill Tommy, but being wary was never a bad idea around their enemies.

_She could've killed Tommy. And I wouldn't have even had a body._ The thought of that sent even more chills down her spine. Dying was something they dealt with every day, or at least the chance of it. But there would be something to mourn over, a way to have closure and move on. She'd seen death happen before, and while it was never pretty, it was still a part of life, something to be dealt with.

Maybe that was one of the reasons she'd accepted the ring. Not the only one, not even the strongest one, but a desire to have at least a little extra memory of Tommy, something that she could hold onto and mourn if the time ever came. Even without being Power Rangers, he was a racecar driver now. More than one fatal accident happened to those, much more so than martial arts instructors or whatever else Tommy might decide to do with his life.

She didn't want to say anything like that to him, though. How could she? At least not now. Perhaps it would be one of those topics they talked about years in the future, when death looked more like an old friend come to visit than a creature rising up to snatch them from behind.

Eventually they stood outside of the Hillard home, looking at one another as they had so many other times, still hand in hand.

"So you're heading out to London next month, right?"

"Right."

"You're going to be great, Kat. I know it. You're incredible." He lifted up her hand and touched his lips to her knuckles, bringing a smile to her lips. "I just wish I could be there for your first performance."

A soft laugh made its way out of her throat. "I don't even know when that will be." It wouldn't be anything big, she knew that. She would have to start at the beginning, just like everyone else. But it would happen, sooner or later.

"Yeah. Well, I know I'll see you up there on stage one of these days." He still didn't release her hands and she wasn't in any hurry for him to do so.

She leaned closer to him, resting her head against his chest. "I'd tell you to be careful, but I know you won't be."

"Can't be careful on the track and win." Tommy pointed out, eyes glinting with that thrill for excitement that was one of the many points that drew her to him.

They moved closer, arms sliding around one another, and lips touched lips with growing passion. Kat almost regretted not telling her parents she was staying over with him. They would've understood, knowing that she would be leaving far too soon. Wanting to spend more time with him was only natural. And she did, she really did. But tonight would not be that night.

But she would take all the nights she could from here on out.

* * *

><p>"So, you think he's going to ask her?" Kim nudged Jason a little, eyes bright with hope. Jason didn't have to ask who she meant. Not after a certain trip the three of them had made some months before.<p>

"I know he is." Jason knew Tommy; he wouldn't have wanted to put Kat on the spot by asking her about the promise ring in front of everyone.

Kim nodded, a warm smile playing about her lips. Jason hadn't ever asked her about her own feelings; he trusted her to handle them on her own, without him being the overprotective big brother. He kept that for people who bothered her too much, and there hadn't been anyone like that in quite some time.

"So what about you and what's her name…Emily?" Kim prodded him once again, avidly curious. "When do I get to meet her?"

"Soon!" Jason held off a laugh; he'd wanted Kim to meet his girlfriend when they were in town for the Little Angels' Shelter, but Emily hadn't been able to make it herself. So much had been going on then anyway. He hadn't wanted to have to explain to her why he'd vanished for a couple of days anyway. He thought sometimes that she suspected what he'd used to do.

Kim leaned back against the wall, uncomfortable as it had to be, and watched the new Rangers for a few moments. She and Cassie had been talking about something before she'd come over to Jason; he thought it involved music of some kind. He hadn't been able to hear it, being mostly caught up in discussing the problems of being a leader with T.J. Tommy had held the position longer than he did, but T.J. didn't seem to care, just wanting to talk about the whole concept.

"I'm really happy for both of them." Jason didn't think she was talking about their new friends. Not with that tone of voice. He knew her too well to think that anyway.

"Regrets?" He chose the word on purpose, wanting her to say only what she felt like saying. He knew about the letter; not only had she talked to him about it before ever sending it, but he'd had a phone call from Tommy not long after it arrived.

She didn't answer at once. "I don't know." Her sigh was heartfelt. "I don't think so, though. Just…wondering a little." She shook her head. "I want them to be happy, I know that."

"And I know that's what they both want for you." Jason tilted his head, eyebrows going up in curiosity. "What about …what's his name?" For the life of him he couldn't remember the name of the man she'd met in Florida. He knew that she'd told him, but it just didn't stay in his head.

Kim swatted him on the arm, any melancholy thoughts dissipating. "He's gone home for a visit. I've probably missed at least one call from him being here." She didn't sound especially worried about that and Jason decided he would have to keep an eye on what developed here. This guy might be Kim's perfect man, but even the perfect man had to deal with certain honorary relatives.

* * *

><p>Kat dropped the suitcase by the door, next to the other three awaiting her. For a few moments she stood and looked at them, before going back upstairs to check her room one last time.<p>

It didn't look like 'her' room anymore. All of her pictures and everything that she'd added here since they'd moved in were now all in one of those suitcases. Even the bed had been stripped; her bedspread packed and the sheets in the washer.

Tommy's hand rested on her shoulder. "Are you ready?" He would take her to the airport. Her parents would come along, of course, and Tanya and Adam would meet them there. She'd hoped Justin would've been able to come, but a combination of homework and Divatox's meddling meant he had too much on his plate for the moment.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Kat turned and followed him down the stairs until they stood by the door again. She didn't waste any time, picking up two of her suitcases and heading out to where Tommy's new truck waited for them.

Just like passing her powers onto Cassie, this all seemed like some kind of weird and wild dream, up until the moment came when it happened. Now she really would be living in London and studying dance, just as she'd wanted for so long.

"Sorry I'll miss your race." Kat wished her flight could be rescheduled, but not everything worked out the way that one hoped. "I know you're going to win."

Tommy only shrugged, grinning. "I'll call and let you know what happened."

"Don't forget about the time difference." She'd drummed that into her own head for weeks already. Seven hours between here in Angel Grove and London, five between Florida and London. She wanted to make certain she could keep in touch with all of her friends. It was almost as hard as keeping in mind the difference between Angel Grove and where she'd lived in Australia.

"I won't, I won't." Tommy settled the suitcases he'd carried out into the back of the truck next to the ones she'd put in there.

Silence fell between them as they settled inside. Her parents were already in their own car and pulling out of the driveway. Kat watched as Tommy backed out, her stomach squirming with nerves that she wished she didn't have.

"You all right?" He asked the question quietly, not looking at her.

"I…" She hesitated, a watery little smile appearing on her lips. "I'm not really sure how to answer that. I'm not worried. I know this is going to work out. But…"

He smiled as well, and that warmed her deeper inside. "But you're nervous, right?"

"Right." How could she not be? It wasn't the kind of nerves that would lock her up from doing anything, but the kind that made her fear what would happen when she did something, no matter what it was.

To his credit, Tommy didn't tell her that she was fretting over nothing. He just patted her hand in his best comforting manner – she had yet to tell him that just his presence comforted her more than anything else ever could – and headed on to the airport.

Kat let her mind wander. Her classes for college wouldn't start for another month, giving her time to get settled into the dance school's routine first. That had been Kim's advice; she was doing much the same in Florida, taking college classes in horticulture and gardening while preparing herself for the next big gymnastics competition. Stressful, she'd called it, but worth every minute. Accomplishing childhood dreams didn't mean that was where their futures ended.

She glanced at Tommy and wondered what else he'd do with his life once he didn't want to race anymore. She didn't know when, or even if, really, he'd change his mind about that, but if it happened, she couldn't help but just…wonder. Would he go into business with Rocky at the dojo? Start up his own somewhere in Angel Grove? Do something else that had nothing to do with the martial arts?

Perhaps do as Billy had and move off planet to work with Power Rangers somewhere else? Zordon had mentioned that was a possibility for Billy, now that he lived on Aquitar. Whether it was one for them she didn't know, but Tommy would be a good candidate if any of them were.

For now, though, he looked just as happy as a fish in deep water when it came to zooming around the track. It satisfied his adrenaline needs almost as much as fighting monsters on a weekly basis had. So whatever it was, she felt assured that it would involve risking his life on some level. That was what Tommy did.

She ran her fingers over the promise ring, wondering what she would do if he did decide to leave the planet. _Better not to worry about it right now._ She had enough to keep herself occupied before she started fretting over things that would probably not happen.

"I heard the Rangers had a fight with Divatox the other day." Tommy spoke up. "Some kind of anger spell or something."

"Yeah, Justin was telling me about it." The youngest Ranger still kept in close touch with all of them, even without fighting together. "They managed it pretty well, though."

"They're doing just fine." Pride flickered through Tommy's voice, pride that she shared. It was good to know that their successors were doing such a good job of keeping the world safe from Divatox. So far she hadn't shown any signs of wanting to take out her anger on the now ex-Rangers, which was all to the good so far as Kat was concerned. Let her focus on the ones who stood opposed to her now.

Closer and closer the airport grew, and Kat held back every scrap of anxiety, focusing on the anticipation instead. A new home. A new chapter of her life starting, one that she would write herself, by her own choice. She never regretted a moment of being a Ranger, though she could've easily managed without being Rita's pawn first.

Far sooner than she would've liked, she stood with her suitcases and her friends there, all of those who had been able to make it. Tanya and Adam both hugged her, while Rocky grinned and wished her well. She hadn't expected him there, in all honesty, but there he stood.

"Kim said hi, by the way," he told Kat, "and she said she'll be waiting for you to call her."

Kat nodded; she had a long list of people that she would call once she had her phone set up properly there. One of her 'going-away' presents was a thick address book that held the name, number, and address of every single Power Ranger and ex-Ranger with the sole exception of Trey of Triforia. Even Billy had added one, mentioning that he was hard at work on getting more reliable communications set up between Aquitar and Earth. Their planet might not be ready for the full on knowledge that alien cultures existed in peaceful harmony, but that didn't mean they couldn't make a few phone calls in the meantime.

Both of her parents hugged her, her mother brushing one hand through her hair. "I can't wait to see you up on stage. You're going to get all the best roles, I know it."

"I hope so." Kat wasn't as certain about that as her mother was; she knew it would take time to work up to that level of skill. Still, there wasn't any reason to deny it just yet. "You two take care of yourselves." They would be home alone without her now, for the first time since she'd been born.

Her father looked over at Tommy. Kat had told them both about the promise ring shortly after he'd given it to her. "Tommy, if Kat ever has to call me and tell me that you've hurt yourself racing, I'm going to be upset with you."

"Don't worry, Mr. Hillard. I'm going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen." Tommy promised. Kat decided moving to England was a very good idea and in fact considered asking Dimitria what Eltar or Inquiris were like.

Though it could've been worse. Her father could've tried being intimidating. She didn't think that would've worked all that well, given his height and build versus Tommy's.

"Good luck, Kat," her father said, patting her on the arm. "We're going to miss you."

"I'll miss you guys too." She hugged everyone one more time before picking up her carry-on. Tommy caught her free hand and she looked back at him.

"I love you, Kat." He didn't say it when it was more than just the two of them very often, and she smiled back at him, fighting back a sudden surge of tears.

"I love you, too, Tommy." There was so much more that ached to be said, and none of it could be. Some words didn't need to be spoken to be known. She kissed him quickly, holding him for a few moments before turning away and heading for her flight. As much as she would've liked to stay there forever with them all, her future called to her and she wouldn't let it wait.

**The End**


	4. Once, Always, and Forever

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Power Rangers Zeo/Turbo/In Space/Dino Thunder  
><strong>Title:<strong> Seven Kisses: Chapter 4: Once, Always, and Forever  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Kat x Tommy  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> chapter: 8,429||story: 34,785  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance||**Rated:** PG-13  
><strong>Challenge:<strong> 7snog: Kat x Tommy: Double Night Challenge: prompt #4: glow  
><strong>Notes:<strong> This takes place sometime during **Countdown to Destruction**.  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another. Kiss #4: When Angel Grove is under attack, it's not just the active Rangers who will defend. In the midst of chaos, Kat and Tommy still find a little time for one another.

* * *

><p><em>What I wouldn't give for Billy right now.<em> Tommy leaned back against the shattered remains of a building and tried to catch his breath. He needed to get in touch with the others, to see who was in the area and who wasn't right now. He knew that _some_ of them were there; Jason was, without a doubt, and Zack, and Rocky. He'd heard that Trini and Aisha were on the way, but he didn't know if they'd actually arrived yet or not.

It was a reunion. They'd had it planned for weeks, once all of them had the means to come and the free time to do so. They wanted to talk about what it was like to no longer be a Ranger, to have time to oneself, and how everyone's lives had been going.

What actually happened was almost as well orchestrated as when Rita, Zedd, the Machine Empire, or Divatox attacked during their special moments in their active days. Only on a much, much larger scale: a full on alien invasion that made Master Vile's little party look like a ten minute annoyance.

Tommy hadn't paid much attention to the news and only knew a little of what the Astro Rangers were doing thanks to e-mails he got from Justin and T.J. He'd spent so much of his time focused on his racing, his long distance college education, and trying to save enough money to take a trip to England to see Kat. He knew that the Power Chamber had fallen, but other than making sure all of the others knew and that T.J. and his friends were in one piece, he hadn't thought much about the situation. The new Rangers could handle it.

Well, maybe they could, but that didn't mean that he and the other ex-Rangers were going to sit back and twiddle their thumbs while their hometown burned.

He couldn't stay here much longer. Those foot soldiers – he thought he remembered T.J. calling them Quantrons – were stomping all over the area, gathering up any stray civilians they found and herding them somewhere. He'd seen people he recognized being taken away already, and only the fact he was outnumbered nearly fifty to one kept him from rushing over to save them.

That was why he needed the others. On their own, without being able to morph, they couldn't do nearly as much as they could together. _We've always worked best as a team. That's not going to change now._

The issue was, of course, getting the team together again. He glanced down at his communicator; ever since the fall of the Power Chamber, the devices hadn't worked. What scattered word he'd had from Billy indicated that the young genius intended to come back for a visit, during which he'd install something that would help them keep in touch, but that hadn't happened yet.

He didn't even know if Billy had left Aquitar before all of this happened. What he did know was that finding the others was absolutely important and he didn't yet know how to do it. The last time he'd tried to make a phone call it hadn't gone through at all, thanks to Astronema's troops causing general destruction and chaos.

_If they'd tried this from the beginning, we wouldn't have ever had a chance._ He couldn't help but be grateful that they hadn't. They had the means to fight back, on some level. The Astro Rangers would handle the big things. They were the active ones, the ones who had the most power, which made it their job. He and the others would do what they could here on the ground.

Metallic grinding echoed faintly, and Tommy didn't wait another moment. He leaped to his feet and jumped upward, grabbing onto the edge of the building, and vaulted to the top. He got lucky; there weren't any Quantrons on top, though there were a few people hovering off to one side. He didn't recognize any of them, and they didn't seem to recognize him, just cowering away, staying as still and silent as they could. He nodded encouragingly at them before he hurried along, his footsteps as silent as could be. The last thing he wanted to do was draw any attention to them, now that he knew they were there.

"Look, up there!" A harsh voice, one with edges of metal to it, could only be a Quantron, and he checked over the edge of the building to see a group of them staring up at …no, not at him. And they weren't even looking in this direction. Instead, the group stared at another building a short distance away.

Tommy didn't bother thinking. Instead, he leaped downward onto the pack of Quantrons, slamming his feet into the leader's back with all of his strength. The metallic warrior stumbled forward, even as the others flailed backward. His attack took them by surprise only for a few moments, before they surged forward.

Unfortunately, Tommy hadn't spent all of his years as a Ranger without learning a few things. He didn't wait for them to attack, but jumped upward almost as soon as the one he'd downed hit the ground, spin kicking to knock the group back. These were tougher than Cogs, he realized right away, and having Ranger powers to enhance his strength even when he wasn't morphed would've helped.

No time to sit and wait and wonder about what could've been, though. He spied a broken street sign only a foot or so away and dived for it. He'd trained in how to use both sword and bo staff, and this would do for the moment. He didn't think he'd find a proper weapon in the shattered city anyway.

"Guess you guys don't know who you're dealing with," he said, grinning at them as he got himself into a proper fighting stance. "Let me introduce myself. The name's Tommy Oliver. Wonder if you've heard of me."

He didn't wait to find out if they had, but swung his improvised staff in a circle, following it up with several quick kicks, making sure to hit a different Quantron every time. He wanted to keep them all as far away from him as he possibly could; that would be the best way to fight them. He didn't want to close; their strength outclassed his in every way.

Try as he might, however, it wasn't as easy to fight them off as it would've been months earlier. The pole, already broken, wasn't the best weapon he could have, no matter how often he slammed it into them. Their metal, whatever it was, was harder than its and their reactions weren't as slow as he would've wanted.

They could also do something he hadn't seen a great many Cogs do, no matter how much they reminded him of the Machine Empire's work: they could work together. He smashed the pole into one of them, driving it as hard as he could, and before he could release it to back away, something hard, heavy, and metallic crashed into him from behind, seizing his arms. Tommy struggled, starting to back up, a vague plan forming where he would smash the Quantron holding him into the nearest building, and get out of there while it recovered. He hadn't been able to watch the people in the building he'd leapt from, but if they were smart, they would've taken the chance to get out of there, as would whoever they'd been going after when he'd interrupted. With them out of the way, he could leave too.

Matters didn't work out like that, unfortunately. He took no more than a step or two backwards before another Quantron dove at him, seizing his ankles and lifting them off the ground. He struggled harder, yanking himself this way and that, only for their grip to tighten to the point he could feel his bones grinding together. He ground his teeth together; he hadn't fought all this time to start crying out in pain just because of some stupid robots.

"Hey! That's my boyfriend!" The cry, sharp and bright as the sun, wasn't one he expected to hear at all. Even less he expected someone to knock the Quantron holding his legs away, giving him back his mobility, such as it was with the way his ankles and legs throbbed now. He pushed the thought of pain away and backpedaled as fast as he could, twisting in the same breath, slamming the Quantron who held him from behind into a wall. The wall shuddered, but had taken too much damage that day already, collapsing into a pile of brick and mortar, with the addition of a Quantron who waved its arms and legs around vaguely in an attempt to get back up.

Tommy did much the same thing, but with more success, getting to his feet and stumbling away. He could ignore pain to some extent, but the quicker he got to where he could sit down, the better.

"Tommy!" He looked up, only now realizing who it was that actually stood there. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of Kat, dirt stains on her cheeks, her hair tangled and knotted, her shirt torn on the left arm, with a streak of blood that made him realize that it wasn't a tear, it was a _rip_, likely caused by one of the Quantrons and its sword.

"Are you all right?" Tommy knew how stupid the question had to be, but he asked it anyway as he hurried over to her. Part of him could hardly have been gladder that she was there, while part of him wished she'd stayed where she was and wasn't putting herself in this kind of danger.

"I'm fine." Kat shook her head, and he knew it was a lie, but now wasn't the right time for calling her on it. She looked him up and down, biting her lip, worry glimmering in the back of her eyes. "What about you?"

"Great." That was as much of a lie as what she'd said, and it still wasn't the right time, and he thought she knew that as well as he did. "Have you seen anyone else?"

"Kim and Zack are over there." She indicated the top of the building the Quantrons had been interested in with a quick jerk of her head, and he wondered if that was who they'd been looking at. "No one else, though."

He nodded, wincing at a sudden sharp stab of pain from his legs. "Come on, let's go." The sooner they were all together around here, the better.

She didn't argue, starting to turn away instead. They'd both barely taken a few steps before he stumbled and caught himself, drawing in a sharp breath of air.

"You're hurt!" Kat reached to support him, wrapping one arm around him and helping him up.

"It's not that bad. I'll be all right." Tommy managed a smile, hoping it didn't look as fake as it felt. From the way she looked back at him, he thought it did. At least she didn't say anything about it.

With Kat's help, it didn't take long at all before he could relax in the shade cast by the ruined building. Kim and Zack didn't take long to show up, and Zack got down to business wrapping Tommy's ankles as soon as he saw the other's pained face.

"So what are we going to do?" Kim asked, arms wrapped around herself as she stared out into what had once been busy, happy city streets.

"What we always do." Tommy answered without a moment's hesitation, wincing as Zack tightened the bandages. He didn't ask where the other picked up the first aid kit. From the laser bolt streaks on it, he didn't think he wanted to know the details. "We help people."

"We need to find the others." Kat put into words what he'd thought to himself all along. "Any idea where they might be?"

Kim frowned in thought, her attention flickering between the other three and the guard duty she'd imposed on herself. "I called Jason when my plane landed and we were supposed to meet at the Youth Center. He might still be around there."

"Good enough place to start." Kat agreed, watching as Tommy began to lever himself to his feet.

Zack nodded his own opinion, a faint wry smile teasing his lips. "At least we can once fearless leader here is ready to move again. Don't you know it's a bad idea to hit metal things that hit back?"

"I don't know, I've had pretty good luck doing it before." Tommy found a grin on his face, and was not at all surprised to see Kat and Kim roll their eyes in unison at him. He struggled to his feet, tense at first, then relaxing as the expected pain didn't shoot through him. _Never thought I'd miss the accelerated healing this much._ Being a Ranger had a lot of perks. Not being one made them seem all the…perkier.

He wasn't sure if that was the right word or not, but there were far more important things to worry about than word choice at the moment. He'd figure it out once the world wasn't coming to an end.

With Kat once again supporting him, the four of them headed out into the streets. Kim ranged ahead of them, while Zack brought up the rear, the two of them keeping all of their attention sharp for any Quantrons or any other supporters of the invaders. No one had seen Astronema on the streets yet, but none of the ex-Rangers were going to take the chance she wouldn't turn up somewhere.

"Which way is the Youth Center?" Tommy asked, trying to figure out where they were. The heart of the city was all he could identify right now, but beyond that, he wasn't at all sure. There were too many ruins, not enough street signs, and far too much chaos to make heads or tails anything short of up or down, left or right.

Kim glanced around, a frown forming between her eyes as she tried to work it out herself. "I think we're not that far from Main Street, so it should be…that way?" She didn't sound very clear as she gestured toward what had once been a broad boulevard with tall trees waving in a warm breeze. Tommy thought he recognized one of those trees, leaves and branches burning, the whole thing torn out of the ground and laying crosswise across a battered car.

"Good a place to start as any," Zack decided. Neither Kat nor Tommy had any arguments, and once again the group headed onward.

Tommy tried not to let himself get distracted by Kat's warm presence at his side. He'd looked forward to seeing her once again during this reunion, and hopefully spending some quality time alone together. Well, they weren't alone and this wasn't quality time by any stretch of the imagination, but they were seeing each other, at least.

"So, how has London been treating you?" He asked. He wanted the answer, though the timing could've been better. Now wasn't a good moment for small talk. Still, better than taking every step in fear.

He thought she agreed, what with the smile before she answered. "Not so bad. I've been learning a lot. What about you?"

"I've been all right." During their phone calls before this, in the long stretch of time after she'd flown to London and before this nightmare, he hadn't mentioned how he'd given more and more thought to doing something that wasn't racing. He hadn't made his mind up completely on what, and it was a thought that had lingered ever since the beginning of his career, but it was also one that he hadn't told her about.

He wondered if he should do that, just in case all of this turned out worse than he'd ever imagined.

"Guys!" They'd barely reached the far end of the street, whatever street it might be, when the familiar voice hailed them. A fraction of the tension Tommy found settling in his shoulders and back eased up at the sight of Jason jogging toward them, Rocky and Trini only a few steps behind. All of them looked a little battered, but not much worse than Kat was, and best of all, they were all there in the first place.

Kim's step held a little more bounce in it as she hurried over to the new arrivals. "Hey, guys! Good to see you!"

"Glad you're all right." Trini gave everyone a quick hug, her attention lingering a little on Tommy and the wrappings around his legs. "What happened?"

"He went toe to toe with some Quantrons." Kat carefully helped him lean against a brick wall that looked sturdy enough to handle him. "You should see what they look like."

"I think I can guess." Trini bent down to check on him, while Tommy just leaned against the wall and caught his breath. He knew he'd be able to fight if he had to, but he still wanted to get his weight off his legs if at all possible.

Rocky, Kim, Jason, and Zack ranged themselves outward while Kat and Trini checked Tommy over. Zack didn't seem to be able to stop himself from moving, sliding here and there, keeping his attention on anything that even looked as if it were about to move and head toward them. Tommy couldn't block their conversation out, and decided it was better to listen than to focus on how much his legs hurt right now.

"Any sign of the Astro Rangers?" Rocky wanted to know. "Last I heard, they were fighting, but no one's been able to pin down where they were."

"Not that I know of." Kim shook her head. "I'm more worried about everyone else, you know. I mean, Angel Grove has a lot of experience with monsters, but this is something eles."

Tommy wasn't going to argue the truth of that. He shifted a little, testing how well he could stand, regardless of the looks both of his impromptu caretakers gave him. "Which is why we're going to keep an eye on them ourselves. We're not Rangers anymore, but we can still help people."

He didn't have to go into any more detail than that. From the looks he saw them giving each other and him, he knew they felt it just the same as he did. This was what they all needed to do: help other people. There wasn't any other way around it.

"Let's get going then. We've still got people to find." Jason folded his arms over his chest. "Who do we know who is in the area and who might need help? Emily's not here; she and her family are visiting her grandmother back east for a few more days."

"I saw Bulk and Skull heading somewhere earlier with some old man." Kim offered, still paying strict attention to the street where they seemed to be the only people around. They weren't that far from the Youth Center; Tommy could recognize the area now, but more by the remains than by the actual buildings. He hoped the center itself wasn't in a shambles. There were probably plenty of people there, since it had been a designated monster shelter since shortly after Rita's arrival. That led him to another thought.

"What about Lieutenant…I mean…Mr. Stone?" Trying to remember which title to use for the ex police officer was always a chore. But the man deserved respect, after putting up with Bulk and Skull for as long as he did.

"He's got everyone in the Youth Center's basement," Rocky told them. "I stopped in there before I came out looking for everyone else." His eyes narrowed a trifle. "Adam and Aisha should be around here somewhere. He was going to pick her up at the airport and meet me there, but I haven't seen them."

Tommy nodded quickly. That left only Tanya for them to locate; Billy hadn't been able to let them know if he'd make it or not, and he still hoped that the other ended up being safe on Aquitar. "Let's go find them, then."

With more vigor in their steps they headed out. Tommy almost hoped they would run across Quantrons again; a burning need to avenge his own injuries and keep these monsters from attacking his friends and fellow Angel Grove citizens blazed within him.

Quantrons weren't all that they had to worry about, though. Somehow, in a way they didn't understand, monsters that they'd either destroyed themselves or seen destroyed by other teams roamed the streets, and it was far, far harder to get rid of them than it was to get rid of Quantron regiments. The revived monsters still weren't as strong as they'd once been, but they were still stronger than the ex-Rangers, all of whom felt the loss of the power.

Kat kept herself close to Tommy, and he didn't miss how her attention only strayed from him at odd moments, eternally making certain that he wasn't pushing himself too much. Sunlight, filtered through clouds of smoke raised by the burning city, glimmered off the ring she still wore, and his heart warmed even more to see that she still wore it. A promise made, a promise that he would fight to keep, until he had no more breath left to fight.

"Watch out!" The words barely had time to erupt from Trini's throat before a Quantron patrol turned down a side street and caught sight of them, followed a few moments later by some monster Tommy thought he remembered seeing the Turbo Rangers fight after they'd given up their powers. He didn't recall the name, but he had something to call it anyway: trouble.

"Everyone ready?" He pulled himself up to fight, just as the others did the same. "You're not taking over this city, today or any other day."

He didn't wait for an answer. He knew it wouldn't be one he wanted to hear anyway. He simply charged toward the Quantrons as fast as he could get his feet to move, the others flanking him as he did.

Tommy kept his attention on the fighting, but it was hard to miss how well the others were doing, even with how long it had been since some of them fought like this. Jason and Zack teamed up flawlessly, as if the years they'd spent apart hadn't ever happened at all. Trini and Kim worked together just as quickly, Kim's gymnastics working quite well to get the Quantrons to where Trini could knock them back. Rocky moved back and forth between the two teams, his back injury clearly well healed as he gave help wherever he was needed.

Kat stayed by him, her long legs slamming against whichever Quantron dared to get too close. He wasn't surprised, either, to see her wrangle one of their swords away from one and use it to slam two of them into each other.

As much as the thought appealed to him, he couldn't watch her, or the others, constantly. The monster lurched closer, and he dodged out of the way of a grasping hand just in time to avoid being crushed. Spinning to the side, he punched a quick double hit to the monster's back and followed the hit up with a quick shove, sending the monster stumbling forward. Kat stepped in then, sweeping at the creature's feet with her stolen weapon, and Rocky darted over to knock it down completely.

"Come on, let's move! We can't destroy it!" Jason called to them as the last of the Quantrons collapsed underneath their assault. Tommy wasn't certain if they would get back up, but it would be better if they got out of there soon, for safety's sake. He hadn't yet seen a Quantron recover, but there were chances he didn't feel like taking here.

The seven of them hurried out of there, moving more or less in the direction of the Youth Center, but not wanting to make a beeline out of it. Years of experience in fighting taught them not to get their heads set in stone about what they were planning to do. All too often plans ended up broken in some way or another.

Tommy kept himself aware of what was going on with all of them, not liking the way that Trini's breath caught in her throat, nor missing the faint wrinkles of pain on Rocky's features. His injury might've healed, but overstressing himself wasn't a good idea. Jason looked in decent shape, but his knuckles were bruised from slamming them against Quantrons, and his steps stumbled now and then. Kim favored one of her arms, one he vaguely recalled having seen one of the Quantrons grab before she and Trini managed to take it down. Zack didn't have any overt injuries, but he was definitely in need of a rest, just like they all wore.

Kat…the wound on her arm had scabbed over before he'd even run into her, but moving and fighting threatened to break it open again. A real doctor needed to check out all of them. Assuming there were any real doctors, with real equipment, available right now. All in all their injuries were fairly light compared to what was going on in town.

He hoped that it would stay that way. But he didn't really think it would.

* * *

><p>Kat refused to go more than a few feet away from Tommy as the group made their way through Angel Grove. Those Quantrons had done more of a number on his legs and ankles than she wanted to think about. As far as she could tell, nothing was actually broken, but that wasn't because they hadn't been trying.<p>

_Sprained, at least._ She didn't know enough about medicine to know for certain, but just the way he winced said too much.

In all of her years of being a Ranger, nothing like this had ever happened. She'd heard about some of their bigger defeats, but this was in a class by itself. What made it worse was that they didn't know everything that was going on. She didn't know if anyone did.

_I wish we could get in touch with Billy. I bet he and the Alien Rangers know more about this._ Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Even if there had been anything left of the Power Chamber, getting there without a car would be next to impossible, and she knew she didn't have one.

"There." Jason's voice drifted across them and they all saw what he was looking at: the Youth Center. Quantrons and monsters marched in between them and it, and she thought she even recognized some of the creatures from her fighting days. She ached for some way to do something actually effective against them, and hated having to resign herself to the fact she couldn't.

Tommy stopped, pain creases in his face easing out as he took some of the weight off his legs, leaning on a broken wall. "We'd better try to get around them."

Kat suspected everyone else felt much the same way that she did about going around instead of through the monsters. It wasn't the Power Ranger way. They didn't have options, though.

_Adam said something about having used his old Power Coin once. But it nearly killed him._ That wasn't something she wanted to risk, not just yet. She had it with her; but whether it could be used, she didn't really know. She wanted to keep more of an eye on Tommy than anything else, though.

"Someone's going to have to distract them." Zack said, a hint of something in his eyes that Kat didn't entirely like. "Then when they're out of the way, the rest of you head on in there."

"Zack?" Trini touched her fingers to his shoulder. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

The first Black Ranger grinned back at her. "Hey, someone's got to do it. Don't worry about it."

Kat only realized a heartbeat later what he had in mind when he darted ahead of them.

"Hey!" He waved at the monsters and Quantrons, shouting as loud as he could. "Hey, uglies! Yeah, I'm talking to you! This isn't your town! No one invited you here! Get out!"

Tommy shook his head, exchanging a quick look with Kim, Trini, and Jason. "Some things don't ever change."

Zack's plan, completely idiotic as it was, worked. Three monsters and every Quantron in sight converged on him, and he didn't make it easy for them. Half-dancing, half-fighting in a way that blended together seamlessly, he led all of them down the street and away from where the rest of the former Rangers lurked in the shadow of yet more destruction. None of them liked it, but hiding in the ruins of their city was getting easier and easier.

"I think they're out of sight now." Trini murmured, leaning up and craning her head around. The remaining monsters muttered to one another, following their friends, and leaving the Youth Center unwatched.

"Then let's go." Scarcely had Tommy spoken the words before they all headed out, scurrying as quickly as they could to the building they'd spent so much of their free high school time in.

"We'd better try the shelter door," Kat suggested, leading the way there. "They probably wouldn't hear us at the front." None of them had ever used the monster shelter entrance, but they all knew where it was.

Rocky banged on the door as soon as they got there, and some of the tension in his shoulders faded when the door cracked open and a familiar face looked out.

"You guys made it!" Adam declared, opening the door a little wider. "Come on, we've still got a little room."

The group wiggled their way in; no one wanted to keep the door open any longer than they had to, just in case the monsters came back. Adam nodded to each of them as they passed, frowning when Trini came in last of all.

"Any sign of Zack?"

The first Yellow Ranger sighed at the question. "He was with us. He led off some monsters and Quantrons to make sure we got here in one piece."

Adam winced, closing and locking the door behind them and heading down the hallway to the stairs that led to the basement, the official shelter. "He should be all right. As far as anyone can tell, they're basically herding people into groups and just not letting anyone leave the city."

An unspoken _for now_ hovered over them all. If Astronema's forces defeated the Astro Rangers, almost anything could happen from then on.

Kat looked around until she found a bench with enough space for Tommy and nudged him over in that direction. "You need to get off your feet."

"What happened?" They all looked to see Aisha and Tanya coming over, both worried for their friend. "Are you guys all right?"

"More or less." Kat shrugged at Tanya's question. "Tommy got himself hurt earlier, though. Are there any doctors around here?"

Adam shook his head. "We have a couple of first aid kids, but we've used up most of what we had in them."

"I just need to sit down a while, that's all, guys. I'll be fine." True to his words, Tommy settled on the bench and closed his eyes. Kat sat on the floor next to him, not caring about what the dust might do to her pants.

Only a few moments passed before Tommy pressed his hand on her shoulder warmly. She glanced up at him, letting all of her worry and concern fill her eyes as she did. He pushed himself too hard too often, and she knew that he wouldn't stop that any time soon, if at all. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to stop, either. It was part of what made Tommy who he was. There wasn't any reason to change him.

She leaned her head against his touch, taking the chance to relax while she could. They wouldn't stay here forever. This was just an interlude, a chance to rest and get caught up on what was going on any way that they could.

"All right, everyone, we've managed to get a television feed." Jerome Stone set the Youth Center's small television, the one that usually rested on the main counter, on a shelf where everyone could see it. "Let's see what's going on."

It took another moment or two for the screen to resolve into full color, and the images that appeared weren't anything that anyone wanted to see. Ruined buildings, burning trees, Quantrons and monsters all over, everything they'd seen coming here reinforced. The announcer's voice spoke over it all.

"Citizens of Angel Grove are advised to stay off the streets if you can. Police and army units will be moving into the area shortly to handle the situation." A voice came from off-screen, wanting to know about the Power Rangers. "No one has seen the Power Rangers since earlier today. We can only hope that they are still among us and will make their return, as they so often have."

The scene shifted to other shots of the various monsters and dark warriors roaming the streets, naming them if they were known. The ex-Rangers paid little attention to that, moving closer to one another.

"I haven't heard anything from T.J. since this got started," Tommy murmured. "I know they've had some problems lately, but I didn't think it was this bad."

Adam fidgeted, nodding. "Carlos and I usually keep in touch, but I haven't been able to talk to him, either. This is bad."

"We need to get back out there and do what we can." Kim curled up next to Rocky, her arms going over her knees as she watched the others. "Once a Ranger, always a Ranger, right?"

"Right." Kat didn't disagree for a moment. "But it's getting late out there. We should get some rest first." She wished they could get something to eat as well, but with all the people crowded in here, that didn't look very likely.

As if the thought summoned him up, Stone cleared his throat. "People, I can't give everyone the specific order they want, but I can make a lot of sandwiches with what I've got on hand, and I should have enough drinks for everyone, at least until tomorrow." No one wanted to ask about what tomorrow might bring. After the news report, and the images still flickering over the screen, they could all guess.

Various murmurs of agreement and thanks moved through the crowd, along with the occasional rumble of an empty stomach or the cough of a dry throat. Kat glanced up at Tommy.

"You're going to eat something." They would all have to, but she would make certain he did. Someone had to take care of him, because in his rush to protect other people, Tommy frequently forgot to take care of himself.

* * *

><p>Moment by moment the afternoon wore on into evening, and the sounds of battle from outside faded into a dark silence that held more tension and fear than the city had ever known. Even Rita Repulsa's initial attack on that Saturday so long ago hadn't caused this much trouble.<p>

Kat didn't go far from Tommy's side, checking the bandages on his legs every couple of hours, and watching as he dozed off into an exhausted sleep somewhere around sunset. Everyone else rested as best they could as well, and she even snatched an hour or so for herself.

She didn't know what time it was when she opened her eyes to find Tommy wasn't beside her anymore. Her head snapped up and she looked around, eyes meeting Tanya's as she did.

"Where is he?" Kat murmured, inching over toward her friend. "Did you see where he went?"

Tanya jerked her head to the door. "He wanted some fresh air." She didn't roll her eyes, but her voice held the same mixture of amusement and acknowledgment of Tommy's stubbornness that the gesture would've held. "He said he'd be back in a few minutes. He hasn't been gone that long."

Kat pulled herself to her feet, dusted herself off, and headed for the door. Adam leaned on the wall not that far from it, and smiled the moment he saw her heading over there. "Thought you'd wake up sooner or later." He cracked the door carefully, making certain not to let it squeak. "He went over that way." He jerked his head to the left.

She'd stood out here, in darkness and in sunlight, more times than she could count, and it still took her a few moments to get herself oriented. As soon as she was, she moved over in the direction Adam indicated, taking each step with the utmost care, every sense alert in case of Quantrons or monsters.

She found Tommy instead, standing underneath one of the few trees that hadn't yet been torn up from the battles raging all day. He glanced toward her as she came closer, but didn't say anything. She wondered if it was because he had nothing to say, or because there was too much going on in his head and he couldn't figure out where to begin.

"We shouldn't stay out much longer," she said, keeping her voice low. He nodded, his attention roaming all over the area.

"I feel like we could've stopped this somehow. That we could've done something else. Something more." He shook his head, and she could see the sorrow in his eyes.

"This isn't our fault, or anyone else's except Astronema's, Tommy." Kat wondered exactly how much of it was AStronema's fault; she hadn't heard much from Cassie on the issue, but what she had told her there was more going on than they actually knew. The problem was that the attack was happening no matter what, and Astronema was at the head of it.

Tommy's head bent just a little, and she guessed that was all she would get out of him for now. She stepped closer, folding her hand around his, giving what comfort she could.

"This really wasn't the reunion that I was hoping for." She did her best to distract him, at least while she could.

"Really? What did you want?" Tommy's voice held a small hint of amusement, one that encouraged her.

"Something less…destructive. I know it's been a while since we had a good party, but this just wasn't what I had in mind." She traced her fingers across the back of his hand gently. "Though I have to admit, I'm glad we were able to see each other anyway."

"So am I." Tommy tilted her head up with the tips of his fingers, dark brown eyes gazing into hers. Neither of them moved at first, then he bent his head down and touched his lips to hers.

It had been months since they'd last kissed one another. Kat closed her eyes as she kissed back, letting all of that time melt away as she leaned in closer to him. There was so much that they needed to do, had to do, and yet couldn't do, and for a few moments, it all took a backseat, letting them have this brief interlude.

If it hadn't been for the faint squeak of metallic joints, Kat didn't know how long they might've stayed like that. Both of them sprang apart when the wind kicked the sound to them, and looked around cautiously.

"I think we can get back inside," Kat murmured. The sound didn't appear that close, and the wreckage in the area gave them a little cover. She could see the desire for a fight flickering bright in Tommy's expression and tugged on his arm. "Tomorrow. Right now we can't risk it." They were too close to the Youth Center, too close to people who couldn't defend themselves even half as well as they could.

Tommy's shoulders slumped just a little and he started back. At least he had that much sense, she assured herself, and walked beside him. She wanted all of this to end, just to give them a chance to be together without stressing over every little noise.

* * *

><p>The sun rose over a shattered city. Those citizens who made it through the night in one piece wandered aimlessly through the streets, more and more of them getting rounded up and herded together. Everyone who'd been in the Youth Center stayed there: almost everyone.<p>

The ex-Rangers waited just long enough for another round of sandwiches and drinks from Stone's dwindling supplies before they headed back out. Those who stayed behind gave them a few dull-eyed looks, not understanding their desire to go and fight against creatures that no one, not even the Power Rangers, could defeat.

Stone, however, looked at them with understanding in his eyes. "I'd go with you, but I need to take care of these people here."

Tommy nodded, reading something in that look that he'd suspected for a while anyway. "You're doing a good job here, sir."

"Not as good as what all of you have done." He said nothing more, only gestured them out before turning back to the people currently under his protection.

Tanya glanced from one of them to the other as they filed out the door, making sure it locked behind them. "You think Ernie knows too?"

"Probably." Kim's lips twitched in amusement. "We should ask him one of these days."

"Let's get all of this taken care of first." Tommy moved out even as he spoke, his ankles and legs feeling much better than they had the evening before. They weren't completely healed, but the pain wasn't anything more than a few twinges. If he'd had aspirin, that likely would've taken care of that nicely enough. He would have to make do.

Overall, they all knew that all they could do was find people who were being harassed by the invaders and put a stop to them the best that they could. Doing so would put them in danger, but that was a place they were all comfortable being. Perhaps if they fought hard enough and long enough, the Power Rangers would come from wherever they were hiding and put an end to all of this. They didn't have any better plans, no matter how much they wanted them.

They stayed close to one another as they made their way through the streets, on the watch for those they knew were active Rangers. Those who'd kept in touch with their successors knew there were two others now, Andros and Zhane, but only Adam and Justin had ever met them properly, and none of them had seen Justin since this began. Tommy wasn't too worried; he'd kept up with the youngest Ranger, and with any luck, he was still two cities over with his father. He'd planned to come to the reunion, but wouldn't have been able to make it before the invasion began.

There wasn't as much movement on the streets by the time they got out there as they'd expected, and most of it turned out to be Quantrons. Fighting those hadn't gotten any easier since the day before, but with the addition of Tanya, Aisha, and Adam, they at least stood somewhat of a better chance.

"Ever notice that they always seem to get a little harder every time someone new turns up?" Kat commented, ducking out of the way of one wild swipe, and wishing that she'd kept that sword she'd taken the day before. "There were Putties, and then Tengas, and Cogs…"

"Guess we should feel proud they think they've got to keep upgrading?" Adam suggested, seizing one Quantron by the waist and twirling it around until he could slam it into another one, sending them both staggering back.

Before any of them could say anything else, more Quantrons began to circle in from neighboring streets, and it was all they could do just to breathe, much less fight. The longer they fought, the harder it was to breathe at all, and the worse their fighting became.

Tommy knew he needed to stop. He needed to get them all out of there and under cover. They were too far from the Youth Center to go back there, and he didn't know anywhere else they could go, but he would have to find a place. Already he could see the signs of collapse coming from some of the others, and it didn't look good for the rest.

It didn't get any better when one of the newly arrived Quantrons carried a large net, one that it spread out to the others as they stalked closer to the embattled ex-Rangers.

"Guys!" He waved them backward, looking over his shoulder as he did, and bit off a word that his mother would've disapproved of hearing from him. Another set of Quantrons with another net came from that direction. Everywhere he looked, monsters and mechanical warriors alike drew in closer, and try as he might, he couldn't see a way out of this.

They fought. With all of their strength and all of their hearts they fought, but one by one the Quantrons overcame them by sheer force of numbers. Perhaps someone had noticed this small roving pack of young warriors that could overcome almost any odds. If they thought they were connected to the Rangers, Tommy didn't know. What he knew was that they were all wrapped up in a pair of steel mesh nets that he couldn't break no matter how hard he tried.

"This is turning out to be one of the worst days of my life!" Rocky gasped as the Quantrons began to drag them all somewhere. "And that's saying something."

"It's in my top ten, I'll say." Tommy struggled, trying with all of his might to at least get on his feet, and failing.

It didn't take very long to get to wherever the Quantrons were dragging them, which turned out to be a large square where most of those surviving citizens who hadn't hidden somewhere wandered loosely, kept in place by warriors of various types. Just as they arrived, a harsh voice rang out over the area.

"Fine, then! Let the destruction of Earth-"

Every one of them lost the ability to breathe as those words rang through the air. Oxygen only flowed back into them a heartbeat later, when a voice each of them recognized and none of them expected to hear her interrupted.

"Wait!"

Silence fell. Tommy wriggled himself around as the Quantrons dragging them stopped, and managed to get himself into a good position to see what happened next. _That can't have been…_

But it was. Bulk, as battered, dirty, and worn out as they themselves were, stepped out into a clear space, staring up at Astronema as she stood waiting. "I am the Blue Ranger."

Soft murmurs of surprise ran through the crowd, and none more so than the captive ex-Rangers. But it got better.

Skull hurried over to stand beside his best friend. "And I'm the Black Ranger!"

Adam blinked a few times before he smiled and muttered, "You've got the guts for it."

An older man came over to join them. "And I'm the Red Ranger!"

More and more of the civilians stood up and joined them, each one declaring that they were a Ranger. Kat stared at them as best she could. "This is incredible. I never thought anything like this would happen."

No one had a chance to say anything else, since at that moment, Astronema and her right hand monster Ecliptor began firing on the crowd in a fury. And mere moments after that, Tommy jerked in surprise when T.J.'s voice spoke out.

"_We_ are the Power Rangers!" Up above, five figures stood on a roof, and backed up their words with two more. "Let's Rocket!"

The ex-Rangers renewed their struggles to get out of the net, though they didn't have much more success than before. The current Rangers leaped into the fight, fighting with all of their hearts, and now joined by the rest of the city's people, led by Bulk and Skull.

"We're going to have to do something for them once this is over," Rocky said, tilting his head up to get a better look. "Honorary Rangers?"

Kim managed a bit of a laugh. "Sounds good to me. Any ideas on how we can get out of here to help?"

Time flowed oddly in battle. This was something they all knew. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes since the fight began before a strange sort of silence that had nothing to do with people not moving fell over the wrecked city. Each of the ex-Rangers could feel something odd stirring deep within them.

"Guys…" Tommy barely had time to shape the word before a burst of brilliant golden light swept across, touching each and every person there, no matter which side they were on. Those who'd served the cause of evil melted away into a pile of sand. Those who'd worked for good relaxed, pain wiped away. Tommy's legs, throbbing more than he'd cared to think about, eased off at once, to a point he knew there was no more damage at all.

Without the Quantrons to keep them there, they were able to finally wiggle out of the net, and stood up. Kat swallowed, trying to get past the lump in her throat.

"Zordon." She knew. They all knew. His warmth glowed in each of their hearts, a gift of love and pride they would never forget.

Tommy wrapped an arm around Kat and drew her in close. He didn't block the tears in his eyes, and neither did she. "Come on. Let's go find the others." They needed to find Zack, try to get in touch with Justin and Billy, and talk to the Astro Rangers. None of them had missed the fact there hadn't been a Red Ranger there. There was so much they needed to know about what happened, and they still didn't know who had the answers.

But one thing they all knew, a certainty left behind by Zordon's last good-bye: they would all face those answers together.

**The End**


	5. Changing Locations

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Power Rangers Zeo/Turbo/In Space/Dino Thunder  
><strong>Title:<strong> Seven Kisses: Chapter 5: Changing Locations  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Kat x Tommy  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> chapter: 8,207||story: 42,992  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance||**Rated:** PG-13  
><strong>Challenge:<strong> 7snogs: Kat x Tommy: Double Night Challenge: prompt #5: restless  
><strong>Notes:<strong> This takes place before, during, and just at the end of **Power Rangers Dino Thunder**.  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another. Kiss #5: Part of life is finding a place that one can call home.

* * *

><p>Kat settled her dinner on the table in front of the window and took a moment to admire the view before she settled down to eat. She enjoyed the view from her apartment here, though she had more than once envisioned what it would be like to go back to Angel Grove. The California city had claimed a special place in her heart for many reasons.<p>

She also wanted to see how the rebuilding had progressed; the messages she got from those of her friends who still lived there told her a lot, but there wasn't anything like seeing it with her own eyes.

Her gaze drifted for a few moments to a set of pictures on the far wall, as happened almost every time she thought of Angel Grove. There she and the other ex-Rangers, from multiple teams, looked back at her, arms around one another and cheerful smiles. The pictures didn't show the wrecked city or the dust, dirt, bruises, and injuries that Astronema's invasion had caused. But she remembered each and every one of them.

One of those pictures held only two people in it: herself and Tommy. She hadn't seen him in over a year, and he hadn't answered any of her letters. The last time she'd tried to call him, his phone number had been out of service.

_I know he said he and that friend of his…_ It took her a moment to dig the name out of her thoughts. Mercer. Anton Mercer, that was it. _They were going on some sort of special trip for something._ Tommy hadn't told her what it was, and the last time she'd spoken to Jason about it, he hadn't known either. Tommy could be close-mouthed when he wanted to be, but he always turned up again safe and sound.

That didn't stop her from worrying about him. Nothing stopped her from doing that. The ring on her hand only made her worry stronger. She didn't like broken promises, and with each passing day, she worried more that this one wouldn't be kept.

Trying not to get herself into a bad mood, she focused on her dinner, and started to mentally go over the moves she needed to practice for the next performance. This would be her last one before she withdrew from professional dancing to focus on her college education, and hopefully being able to contribute something to Angel Grove's rebuilding. She wanted to make it the very best that she could.

She was deep into the movements for the third act, swaying a little to the music that ran through her head, when a knock came at the door. It was quick and sharp, and long-buried instincts rose up, warning her toward caution.

No Power Ranger of any kind lived without a daily regimen of workout and some kind of a weapon in their home. Being retired from active duty didn't change this. It was a good thing that weapons from KO-35 weren't actually illegal on Earth, since Andros made certain to provide all of them with a blaster and backup charges for it.

Kat swung open one of the paintings on her wall and her fingers spun over the combination lock that opened the small wall safe hidden there. It didn't matter what numbers she stopped it on; the real way to open it was simply to be her. This was something Billy had picked up on Aquitar, a safe that read a person's biorhythms, fingerprints, and retina scans to make certain they were someone authorized to open the safe.

Taking the blaster out, she shut the safe again and headed over to the door, where the knocking hadn't stopped. Just as she got ready to open it, a voice spoke up, weary beyond anything she could remember hearing before.

"Kat? Are you in there? It's me."

Her eyes widened at that, and she started to open the door. She still kept her blaster ready, just in case. It wouldn't be the first time that some enemy tried to deceive one of them with a clone or a spell meant to duplicate or imitate. Just because it sounded like Tommy didn't mean it actually was Tommy.

On the other side of the door stood Tommy Oliver. Or leaned, to be more precise, as he looked as if he couldn't have stood up if he wanted to. He looked up when the door opened and smiled at the sight of her. It was a very weary smile, but one that held every bit of the warmth she expected from him.

"It's me."

Kat still didn't move to let him in, and he must not have expected her to, as he dragged something else out of his head. "Still keeping that promise." And his eyes fell to the ring on her hand.

Kat opened the door and he stumbled inside, managing not to fall by sheer strength of will. She hurried him carefully over to the couch, keeping the blaster out of range. He smiled at the sight of it.

"I could've used that a while back." He shook his head a little. "Didn't want to take any chances with what Anton and I were doing, though."

Kat set it down on her coffee table and took a long look at him. "Tommy, what happened? Where have you been all this time? And don't tell me that you can't tell me."

He let out a long sigh, leaning against the couch. From what she remembered from the last time she'd seen him, he'd lost weight, and hadn't had nearly enough sleep in recent days. Scratches and bruises littered what parts of him she could see, and from the way his sweater looked, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know what the parts she couldn't see looked like. What on Earth had he been doing?

"Anton and I were working on a secret project. Probably the worst thing that could happen, did happen: it worked."

Kat managed not to smile. It sounded too much like the standard day in the life of a Power Ranger. She gestured for him to keep going even as she headed into the kitchen to make him some coffee. He looked as if he needed it.

The tale she heard wasn't one she'd expected, though it was one she wasn't surprised to hear about. Dinosaurs of various kinds, crystals that could very well power a new age of Power Rangers…exactly what she would've expected Tommy to get involved in given half a chance.

"So now what are you going to do?"

Tommy didn't answer at first. He sat and stared into the coffee cup she'd handed him, as if expecting the coffee to have answers he didn't. Finally he shook his head. "I don't know yet. I know that those Dino Gems are going to be needed one day. I need to keep them safe." He stared down again. "I think I should get in touch with Billy. I'm going to need his help."

Kat, sitting next to him now, took one of his hand in hers. "If there's anything that I can do, let me know."

He smiled at her, a tired smile that told her far more than his words did of how much he needed to rest. She wished at times that he wasn't so… so Tommy. That saving the world wasn't in his blood the way that it was. But then, she knew, she wouldn't love him the way that she did. It would make him someone else altogether, and she would have nothing of that.

"I could use a place to stay, until I can get things sorted out? I used up all my money getting here."

Her heart raced to think that when he'd needed somewhere to go, he'd come to her, of all people. She squeezed his hand. "You've always got a place with me, Tommy." Her apartment only had one bedroom, but she would make room for him anywhere that he wanted.

He might've said something else about what plans he had, if his stomach hadn't declared desires of its own at the moment. Kat jumped to her feet right away.

"Stay right there." She'd made more than she really needed for dinner, and had planned on finishing the rest of it either as a late night snack or for breakfast. But she didn't think Tommy would object to having it himself, after a little re-heating.

He sort of nodded as she stepped into the kitchen, and she doubted that even if he'd wanted to, he could've moved off the couch. That was just fine by her. The less he moved right now, the better.

It only took her a few minutes to get the plate heated up and brought back to him. But by then, he'd slumped over, eyes closed, and a soft snore issuing from his lips. Kat watched him for a few moments before setting the plate down on the coffee table where he'd see it when he woke up. He needed sleep more than food right now, or so his body clearly decreed.

She tugged a blanket out of the closet and wrapped it around him before locking her door and putting the blaster where she could get to it easily. The tale he'd told of what happened on that island wasn't one that encouraged sweet dreams, and she wanted to make certain if any of those creatures should happen to turn up that she was ready to deal with them. Tommy wouldn't be until after he slept, and she didn't plan to let them interrupt his nap.

* * *

><p>It took a few days for everything to get sorted once he did wake up. Tommy still hadn't made up his mind on whatever it was he wanted to do after he left, but Kat knew that he would leave as soon as he'd recovered his strength. Fighting off monsters and having to swim from the shattered remains of an island to where he could send a message to get himself picked up had taken more out of him than he wanted to admit, even to her.<p>

Wherever he went, it would have to have a place he could fortify against the attack he knew would come one day, and probably teenagers who might stand a chance at being Power Rangers. That gave a lot of options, and she could see him staring more and more at maps of California and the towns and cities in the vicinity of Angel Grove. She knew what was coming.

So it was no real surprise when after days of communication with Billy and searching for real estate and shopping to rebuild his wardrobe that he looked at her over dinner one evening.

"I'm moving back to Angel Grove for a while. I've signed up for fall courses at the university." He reached out to take her hand as he spoke. "I need somewhere to rest for a while and get things sorted out." She wanted to ask if her place wasn't good enough. She refused to let the hurtful words pass her lips. Instead she smiled a weak smile of her own. "I had a feeling you were going to say something like that." She pressed her fingers closer to his. "You know you're still welcome to stay as long as you want." "I know. I just feel like this is the right thing for me to do." He dropped a warm kiss on the back of her hand. "Come and see me as soon as you can?" "I will." She knew she would. The thought of moving back herself still lived warm and comfortable in the back of her mind. She just had to get through the one last performance. "When are you going?" "Not until next month. I still have to get a few more things taken care of here." Her last performance would be the following week. Her heart beat faster at the thought of him being there. He'd come to her shows when he could, but as he got more and more involved with Anton Mercer, his attendance had dropped off. He must've guessed where her thoughts wandered, since he tightened his grip a fraction on her hand.

"Don't worry. I'm going to be there for your show. Wouldn't miss it for the world."

She hadn't yet told him it was her last one or that she planned to move within a few months herself. She decided he didn't need to know, not just yet. If there were things he felt were right for him to do, then she felt the same way about what was right for her to do.

"Can't wait to see you there."

* * *

><p>People from all over came to the performance, which would be televised live as well. There were even rumors that it would be broadcast to Mirinoi for the settlers and natives there to enjoy. Kat wasn't so sure about that, but she hoped that everyone who saw it enjoyed, no matter who they were.<p>

She'd made certain Tommy didn't just get a ticket, but a backstage pass as well. She kept her focus on her dancing, but she could feel his eyes on her, and danced all the better for it.

Kat didn't think about how much her body hurt. She'd grown used to it over the years she'd danced professionally. All she kept her thoughts on was the dance itself. She didn't worry about making mistakes. If she stopped to do that, then she would make one. She just danced.

After the last curtain call and the last bow from the performers, when the applause from the audience rang from the rafters, and Tommy's delighted calls echoed in her ears, she hurried to her dressing room, wanting to change and get ready for the part of the evening she'd secretly been looking forward to most of all: dinner with Tommy.

As soon as she stepped into her dressing room, she was overwhelmed by the delicious scent of a dozen kinds of flowers, all of them set out in beautiful vases of cut glass or ceramics. This was hardly the first time she'd come back to find this, but one bouquet in particular caught her attention: a beautiful display of soft red and pink roses, set in a vase of pure white. She plucked the card from it and opened it up.

_I love you, Kat._ Simple and true, in Tommy's handwriting, and her heart melted all over again for him.

Showered and changed into something much more suitable for dining than dancing, she stepped back into the dressing room just in time to hear that familiar knock. She plucked one of the red roses out of that particular vase and wound it into her hair on an impulse before she opened the door. Tommy started to say hello before his eyes fell on it, and he smiled.

"Ready to go?" She asked, her own lips curving upward. He blinked for a moment, then nodded.

"Ready."

* * *

><p>Autumn leaves skittered through the city streets, pushed here and there by the wind, while a harvest moon rose higher and higher, sending silver streams of light all around. With the streetlights gleaming, it was hard to see the moonlight, but Kat liked to keep a watch on it anyway. Even knowing that Rita and Zedd weren't the threat they once had been, it was hard to shed the fear that something, or someone, there could be watching them.<p>

But even with that caution, Kat still enjoyed walking with Tommy, hands twined about one another, as they spoke of what the future held.

"Jason said they've got a room I can stay in until I get my apartment set up." Tommy told her. She nodded; Jason and Emily would always have their doors open for Tommy. "I won't be there long, though."

Her eyes twinkled a little as she swung his hand in hers. "I hope you don't think I'd be jealous of you staying with them."

"Of course not!" Tommy protested with a shake of his head. "I was just…I don't know…" He fidgeted, a hint of a flush creeping up his cheeks. "I wish you were coming too." Kat breathed out silently. "Maybe someday." She still had so much that she wanted to sort through before she made her own return to Angel Grove. She might not get to that for another year. If then.

"Can't wait to see you when you do. I'm going to miss you."

Kat glanced toward him, then away for a few seconds. "I already miss you." Having him around all the time had been like a sneak preview of what they might have one day. Every time she looked at the promise ring, she had to wonder how much longer it would be until that promise would be kept. She'd certainly never met anyone who interested her half as much as Tommy did.

Both of them stopped, just a few short streets away from Kat's apartment, and met one another's eyes. Slowly, softly, their lips touched. Kat could feel his breath on hers and leaned in closer, arms going around him, as did his around her. She wanted this moment to last forever.

This wasn't the first time the two of them had kissed since he'd arrived at her door, exhausted from fleeing the island. There had been other moments, hands touching one another with the most fleeting of caresses, favorite treats and new treats shared and discovered, movies seen together where they held hands and laughed like children, and the nights where they held one another close and let passion fill them both.

But this kiss held something different between them. Another promise, one that might take years til fulfillment, but it would be all the same. Both of them had faith in that.

"You'd better keep in touch with me. Or else." Kat murmured, only moving herself a little back so she could speak.

"I'll e-mail you my phone number as soon as I've got one." Tommy promised, reaching one hand up to tug through her moonlight-touched hair. "And my address, too."

That was the best she could hope for, for now, at any rate. She leaned her head against his chest and breathed in deeply. A preview of what might be, perhaps, but like all previews, it had to end sooner or later. And, she hoped, it would be surpassed by the actual feature.

* * *

><p>"Doesn't seem like that long ago we were saying good-bye to each other in Angel Grove, and I was the one who was leaving." Kat kept her voice steady, no matter how hard it was. She'd known it was going to happen, but like so many departures, it hadn't seemed real until they stood here waiting for the actual moment.<p>

Tommy looked much better than he had on that first day. He'd gained back weight, mostly muscle since he'd found a gym he could use to work out at, and he'd been able to shave and shower regularly again. She didn't tell him that she kind of missed his long hair. The short cut looked better on him anyway. It gave him a kind of maturity she wasn't used to seeing from him.

He also wore clothes that weren't more hole than cloth at the moment, though if she knew him, there would likely come a time when that changed. She had no idea of how many shirts he'd owned that ended up in tatters after the daily attacks of Tengas, Cogs, and Piranhatrons. Probably at least as many as she had at the time.

His fingers rested warm on her hand as they stood there. She memorized the feel of them, as she always did and always would. "I know." So much had happened between those two moments. Almost enough to comprise a lifetime it seemed, and yet not nearly enough time at all for everything she wanted to do.

"I wish I knew what to say." She didn't want to say good-bye, not at all. She wanted him to change his mind. She wanted to change her mind and go now. She just did not want them to separate at all. Ever.

He leaned his head down to rest against hers. "I'll call you as soon as I get to the airport. Just so you know I got there in one piece."

"All right." It wasn't enough. It couldn't ever be enough. But it would have to do.

Tommy slowly pulled himself away, and to Kat's hidden joy he seemed as reluctant as she was to do this. But reluctant or not, he did it anyway, picking up his carry-on bag and taking the first steps away. Calling was more than just assuring her that he'd made it safely; three of the Dino Gems he'd created were hidden in that bag. He'd mentioned there were two more, but he'd lost track of them in the confusion of the island, and could only hope they would return when needed.

"They will. That kind of thing is what happens to Power Rangers." Kat assured him when he'd told her about them.

He did his best not to laugh, though the crinkling of his eyes told her that he wanted to. "We'll just have to hope that we don't get any evil Power Rangers out of it."

"Right. I think we've had enough of those." And yet it was still something that more than one person attempting to take over the world had tried. Clearly everyone else who tried it just hadn't done it the right way.

Kat watched Tommy move out of sight and headed over to where she could see his plane. She had her own matters to take care of still but put them on hold for these precious few moments. She knew that she'd see him again and refused to turn away until she couldn't see him any longer.

_Take care of yourself, Tommy._

* * *

><p>Kat poked her head out of the bathroom, frowning, not certain of what she'd heard. For a few moments she thought she'd imagined it and prepared to go back to her shower. Then the phone rang again and she hurried over to grab it, recognizing the number right away.<p>

"Hi, Tommy!"

"Hey, Kat." He sounded a little tired, though not so much as she'd heard him at other times. "I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

"Only a shower." She teased, quite glad she hadn't given in to Billy's urgings to have a videophone installed. As much as she loved Tommy, showers were private matters. Unless they'd decided otherwise, of course. "Give me a minute, all right?"

"Sure. Don't be too long, though, okay? I've got something really important to tell you."

Kat set the phone down, a faint hope she wanted to throttle going all through her. Five years since he'd moved back to California, and hardly any time at all since he'd settled in at Reefside as the science teacher. She kept meaning to go there and meet those kids he'd talked about, the new Dino Rangers. Everything in her work seemed to contrive to keep her away from them, and from him.

She wouldn't let it much longer, though. She had far too much reason to go there.

Dry and dressed, she hurried back to the phone and plopped herself down in her favorite chair, reaching for her brush to deal with her obstinate hair. "All right, I'm back. What is it?"

He hesitated before he said anything, and a slow sinking feeling wrapped all through her. "Remember how I said that there were two missing Dino Gems?"

"That's right." Oh, no. No.

"Well, there's only one missing now." He hadn't said it yet. She could hope that it wouldn't be true until he did.

"Who's the lucky new Ranger?" She wished now that she'd gone there to have a chance at meeting some of the other kids who were there, maybe get a feel for who might be this new choice. Then she wouldn't have the abyss of nerves swirling around inside of her.

Again the silence, broken at last by two words. "I am."

She dropped her brush and leaned back against the chair, closing her eyes. She knew it was an honor to be a Ranger, and it meant risking one's life on a daily basis, fighting against beings that wanted to destroy the world or conquer it or whatever it was they wanted to do. She also thought that was a part of their lives they could put behind them.

_I should've known better. I did know better. This is Tommy._ If anyone would choose to be a Ranger until their dying day, it would be him. It was far too much of who he was. She'd known that for years. And yet this still struck a chord deep within her.

"What happened, Tommy?" He'd kept her, and the other ex-Rangers, advised about what was going on in Reefside, as best that he knew it. She still hadn't heard of anything that would indicate he was once again going to be on the battlefields.

"Kind of a long story there." He didn't sound reluctant to say it, and she made herself as comfortable as she could while he got started, listening to every word.

It also completely failed to surprise her that once again, he'd taken up the Ranger's mantle because of being kidnapped by a villain. Some things would absolutely never change.

"So, now you're the Black Ranger." Getting upset about it wasn't going to make him not be a Ranger anymore. She didn't have to like it, and she could hope it wouldn't last forever, and that he wouldn't get hurt. He wasn't as young as he'd once been, whether he realized it or not. "Should I start stocking up on yellow and blue just in case?" She let out a soft laugh. "Or maybe I should get out some of my old clothes? I'm sure Kim would be willing to contribute if you needed anything."

Now she almost wished she did have a videophone, just for the look she was almost certain decorated Tommy's face right now. If only, if only…

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not going to need that. I hope." Tommy laughed a little. "I think Jason and Adam should be able to help with the clothes for now, though."

"Maybe when I get down there we can do a little shopping." She wasn't as much of a shopper as some people that she knew, but she knew roughly what would look good on Tommy and what wouldn't. Black wasn't a bad color for him, actually. She could think of worse ones.

"When are you coming?" A hint of hopefulness tinged his voice now and she considered her calendar carefully.

"I think I can make it sometime next month. Try not to let the world get taken over before then? That doesn't work well with travel plans." As they all knew far too well.

Tommy chuckled at that. "I'll do my best. See you then." A small wisp of a pause, nothing more than a breath's worth. "Love you, Kat."

"Love you, too." Her heart warmed at the words. No matter how much what happened terrified and angered her, she had to admit there was a twinge of pride in there too. And she knew no matter what, if she'd been offered the chance to take up the fight again, she'd take it. Just like they all would.

* * *

><p>Kat's heels clicked on the hospital floor as she hurried toward the room she'd been told he was in. Her hands clenched, and she knew she'd have to resist the urge to smack him. She'd told him to take care of himself, and what had he done? He'd ended up in the hospital. He hadn't even been able to tell her about it. She'd received a phone call from Hayley instead.<p>

She expected to see the other woman and perhaps Tommy's students around the hospital room. It was past school hours and visiting hours hadn't ended yet. She knew she'd recognize Hayley if she saw her; they'd met at one of the Ranger reunions before Tommy moved to Reefside. But she'd never yet encountered those new Dino Rangers.

How hard could it be to identify three kids who'd probably be outfitted in monochrome shades anyway?

Then again, no one had ever pegged _them_ as the Power Rangers, so that might be harder than she thought.

She stopped outside one room and checked before going in. She moved carefully, not wanting to disturb him if he turned out to be asleep. His bed was hidden from casual viewing by the curtain and she moved carefully around it, ready to wait if need be.

He looked up at her as she poked her head around and smiled, eyes lighting up with joy. "Kat!"

"Tommy!" She hurried forward now to wrap her arms around him gently. "You're awake! Hayley told me you were in a coma."

He shrugged at that. "I got bored so I decided to wake up from it. What about you?"

Kat never knew how she managed to stop herself from smacking him. He deserved it, she knew that he did, but they were in a hospital and the doctors would likely object to it. Though if they knew him like she did, they might well hold him down and let have at him.

"I'm fine. Just what's been going on here?" She had a thousand questions and no idea of where to start with any of them. The few phone calls and e-mails exchanged since he'd told her he was the Black Dino Ranger hadn't covered nearly enough.

Tommy sighed as she pulled one of the chairs over and settled into it. "That is an even longer story than the last one."

"I'm not going anywhere. I've got enough time off stored up so I can stay for a week." And she fully intended to stay every single one of those seven days, and to find out what she'd been missing out on. She should've found a way to move down here as soon as she'd found out about him being a Ranger again. He could manage without her, as she could without him, but the idea of all of this happening and she hadn't known about it infuriated her. She didn't care if it would've put her into any kind of danger at all. For the sake of _knowing_, she would've risked it.

And she might still. She hadn't made her mind up on it, and it would still take time for her to make a move if she decided to do so.

"Well, it started a while ago." Tommy ran his fingers down the side of the sheet as he began. Kat made a point to tell all of their other friends about what Tommy had been doing without letting hardly any of them know about it. He would be in for more lectures that he knew what to do with. She wanted a front row seat for whatever Jason had to say, and she suspected Kim would as well. Perhaps she'd provide popcorn for both of them.

Footsteps sounded outside, more than one set, and she turned to see four young people standing there, none of whom looked very comfortable at seeing her beside Tommy's bedside, and likely less so because of their hands now being wrapped around one another. Three young men and a young woman, all probably around high school age, and she noted quickly that they all wore a specific color, red, yellow, blue, and white.

She looked back at Tommy, her voice too low for anyone passing in the hallway to hear, but they could. "Care to make the introductions, Dr. Oliver?"

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Hey, guys. Glad to see you." He gestured for them to come closer. "Kat, I'd like you to meet Connor, Kira, Ethan, and Trent. Guys, this is Kat Hillard. We've known each other a long time."

Kira's gaze fell to where their hands were visible on the bed. "I guess you know each other really well?"

"You might say that." Kat shifted her hand just enough so the promise ring was visible. "I heard he'd gotten himself into some trouble and came to see what he's been doing."

Ethan's eyes widened a fraction. "Are you …I mean…were you…" He tossed a glance over his shoulder before looking back at her.

"The same after school activities that you guys are doing? Yes." She'd learned a lot about how to mention being a Ranger without actually saying that's what she was. Those who were Rangers would understand and no one else needed to. "That's how Tommy and I met."

They looked so young just as they were, and at that mention, they looked even younger, as if waiting for story time. Kat chuckled. "I can tell you some other time. I'll be here for about a week."

"Sounds like it will be a good story." Trent said. Kat eyed him for a moment; Tommy had mentioned how the White Ranger started off evil. She looked back to Tommy, who nodded as if he read her mind.

"It has a happy ending, at least." Or it would, once they actually got to the ending. If anything ever ended.

* * *

><p>Tommy didn't stay in the hospital for more than another day or so. From what he'd told her, once he'd recovered completely from the coma, he'd been kept there for tests and observations, and the doctors kept muttering words to the effect of 'This is impossible' and 'I can't believe this'.<p>

Tommy himself didn't give them any hints that there might be something unusual about his recovery. While some Power Rangers didn't bother with secret identities to the general public anymore, those who'd served under Zordon still kept to the promises he'd asked them to make. No one who wasn't another Ranger, a former enemy, their enemies, a close ally, or once in a while a husband or wife or other close family member knew. Emily did, though Kat wasn't sure when she'd found out, and she knew Tommy's brother David did as well, and Tanya's parents.

But the doctors didn't need to know, and they were not told, and released Tommy two days after Kat's arrival. At his request, she moved her possessions from the hotel she'd slept at while waiting for his release to his house. He had plenty of spare rooms and she set her bags in one of those, only to see him standing in the doorway with a pout on his face.

"Kat?"

"The doctor said you need to rest for another week or so." Kat folded her arms over her chest and looked back at him. "That means _rest_."

He pouted even more, a look that didn't set so well on a grown man's face. She didn't even blink at the sight. "I can come back in a few months. When you're _rested_."

"You know how to tease me." Tommy moved over to her and pulled her into an embrace. She leaned closer, resting one ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"When Hayley told me you were in a coma, I didn't know what to think. All I could imagine was getting here as fast as I could." She'd planned for this trip all along, but had imagined it being more of a leisurely vacation, taking her time to drive and enjoy a few sights along the way.

Instead, she'd managed to get a plane ticket, and rushed on with her bags. If she could've teleported, she would've done that instead. She wanted to talk to Billy about getting that fixed up for them somehow. It could come in much handier than almost anything else they were looking into.

Tommy ran his fingers through her hair, pressing close to her. "I'm sorry. I've been so busy with everything that I haven't had a chance to talk to almost anyone." "I'm telling Jason on you. And Kim." Kat tilted her head back and was not at all displeased by the brief look of consternation in his eyes. If nothing else, that made her feel so much better about all of this. He was healed enough to know fear at the mention of two of his best friends being angry at him.

The fact that he was afraid made her all the more determined to have Kim and Jason talk to him about what happened, too. Maybe it would finally get through to him that keeping them informed wasn't a bad idea. Maybe they couldn't do anything to help, but they'd at least know what was going on.

For now, though, she was content just to hold him and be held by him and be aware that they still had a few more days together and that no battles, no wars, lasted forever.

* * *

><p>All of the ex-Rangers received word when Mesogog was defeated. Tommy learned his lesson after Jason and Kim both showed up to give him resounding lectures about not keeping in touch with his friends. Kat not only watched, with popcorn, but she and Kim gave running commentary when Jason and Tommy sparred with one another, and Jason proved that being a cop kept him in even better condition than being a science teacher.<p>

But when the time for prom came, only Kat ended up being free to come by, though everyone else sent encouraging words to both her and Tommy. Kat made her way through the crowd, nodding here and there as she spied the occasional familiar face of the now ex-Dino Rangers. They would have to be introduced to the rest of the larger Ranger clan, in due time. She would see to it that Tommy took care of it.

Tommy himself stood there talking to someone she didn't recognize at first, until he moved, and she saw Anton Mercer there. He caught a glimpse of her over Tommy's shoulder and said something she couldn't quite catch to him. Whatever it was, Tommy turned around, lighting up when he saw her coming closer.

"Kat! You should've told me you were coming!"

She laughed at that. "That's why it's called a surprise visit." This would be the second prom that they'd attended together, even if this was a little more unorthodox than the first one, if only by the fact there wasn't a limo and they hadn't arrived together.

"Hey, you wanna dance?" Tommy offered, holding one hand out to her. She took it at once.

"I thought you'd never ask." It never failed to astonish her how easily they fell back into one another's company whenever they'd been apart for a while. She treasured every moment as the two of them spun around the dance floor together, more than one person looking surprised that their science teacher was out there with them. Well, why not? Principal Randall was dancing as well, she saw, with Anton Mercer no less.

Three dances later, they ended up by the refreshments table, and Kat accepted a glass of punch. She hadn't danced professionally in some time, but this was different from ballet in so many ways that even if she'd still been a pro, it would've tired her out. Her legs ached from muscles long unused in this way as well. It reminded her of how she'd felt after quite a few performances.

"This is the best night I've had in a while," Tommy said, sipping his own punch. "No more worries about getting jumped by anything."

Kat had to laugh. "At least not until next time, right?" She thought she saw a touch of red creeping up his cheeks, but didn't point it out. He'd deny it, and she wanted to enjoy it for what it was.

"I'm glad you came." Tommy shifted subjects, glancing between her and the students still dancing. "I hoped you would."

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world." Kat promised. She'd planned to come back here ever since she'd left following her first visit. She finished her punch; maybe it was time to tell him. "I'll be here a few days. I've got something to do."

He glanced at her, a curious noise on his lips. She drew in a long breath and hoped this worked as well as she wanted it to. "I'm looking for apartments. I'm moving to Reefside. I've got a job with a firm here already." She'd put in a couple of applications during her first visit, though she'd never told him about them, just in case.

Tommy's jaw didn't precisely drop, but it definitely lowered a little. He swallowed, trying to get himself together. "You're going to be…staying?"

"Not quite just yet, but eventually, yes." She did like the place, and thought she would've wanted to stay here even if he wasn't.

He wrapped his arms around her at once, leaning in to dash a quick kiss on her lips. It was just as well he didn't try to say anything, since she doubted he would be all that coherent just yet. The few words that he did manage to say that made sense involved her name and not being able to believe what was happening. She'd expected little else.

Then Tommy did say something that made much more sense. "Want to go outside? I think they can handle themselves here without me for a while."

"Sure." She could use a little breath of fresh air herself. A couple of hundred kids all crammed together made it a little difficult to think clearly.

Still holding her hand, Tommy guided her through the mass of teenagers and to the nearest door that led outside. She breathed a fraction easier as soon as they were out there. All of those people looking at the two of them made her just a trifle uneasy. _I suppose I'll have to get used to it._ It was different having thousands of people staring at you while you were on stage performing for them, as opposed to teenagers wondering just who you were and why their science teacher looked like he'd just won the lottery.

They walked through the parking lot and down to a long stretch of grass. Starlight shimmered overhead. Kat kept her hand in his, looking forward to a long stretch with very little to do that involved saving the world. Everyone needed a break from that.

"Kat, I was wondering something…" He wasn't looking at her, but she took the chance to admire the way the light reflected off his hair. "We made a promise, a long time ago."

"I wouldn't call it all that long ago." It hadn't even been ten years. Even if it had been, that wasn't 'long ago'.

Tommy kept on going anyway. "Kat Hillard, I've got an important question to ask you. We've been promised all this time." A faint chill spread all through her and she didn't know if it was excitement or fear. Perhaps it partook a little of both. "Will you marry me?"

For the first few seconds, Kat could not think at all. Part of her had expected this question at some point in their lives, but now that she'd heard it, everything about her froze. She wasn't any more coherent than Tommy had been back at the dance.

Then her mind unstuck itself and she returned her answer. "Of course I will!" She'd worn his promise ring for all these years and nothing at all had happened so that she would consider changing her mind.

Tommy breathed easier himself, turning to look at her, hands still held close together. "I wasn't sure…but I had to ask. I've been thinking about it a lot and now that Mesogog's taken care of…well, I couldn't think of a better time."

"Me either." She pulled herself closer and touched her lips to him, closing her eyes. Their first kiss as actual fiancés… She would remember this one. Not that she forgot any of their kisses, but she savored the memory of some more than others.

She caught a glimpse of a knot of people a little too far away to have heard what they'd talked about but definitely able to see them. She didn't know them as well as Tommy did, but she recognized Anton, Principal Randall, and the former Dino Rangers, as well as Hayley. There were two others off to the side that she didn't recognize right away, but no one seemed too concerned about them being there. "Tommy, I think we have an audience."

He turned the way she indicated and groaned audibly. "Somehow, I don't think I'm all that surprised."

Neither was she. They were the people most important to Tommy here, for one reason or another. If they'd been in Angel Grove, then plenty of their mutual friends would likely have been there as well. She shook her head. "Do you want to tell them?"

"Later." Tommy squeezed her hand, touching the promise ring with the tip of a finger. "I'll get you a real engagement ring soon. I wasn't expecting to see you tonight or I would've tried to have one ready."

"That's all right." She didn't need a ring to know the promise had been kept. "Let's get it together." She'd spied one or two good jewelry stores during her first visit and the chance to check them out together was not to be turned down.

Tommy hesitated before he asked his next question and it was just as unexpected as his first one had been. "What do you think about moving in with me instead of getting an apartment?"

Her first thought on the matter was that it would be a little inconvenient, given how far his house was from the main part of the city. Her next thought was that it wouldn't matter at all; she had a car, he had a car, and it would be far more convenient in many other ways, such as living with him on the beginnings of a permanent basis. Not to mention that by now, he'd definitely healed and rested enough for strenuous activities.

"I think that can be arranged."

"Good. I've got to do some cleaning, but it shouldn't take more than a few days." He glanced over to where their little audience remained, and a smile flicked across his lips that made them one and all back up a step or two. "Especially since I should be able to recruit some help."

She didn't know how he planned to do that, since he could hardly hand out detention to graduated students, but she trusted he knew what he was talking about.

"That's all right. I won't be ready to move here for a while, at least." Moving always took forever, she'd noticed, though nothing yet beat moving from Australia to California, or California to London. Moving to Reefside would be a snap of the fingers by comparison.

He nudged her a little toward the watchers and the closer the two of them got, the more the teenagers backed away. Tommy might not be able to sentence them to detention, but either they hadn't guessed that, or they didn't care. She spied the little smirk on his face and decided that they probably didn't care to test the odds.

"And where are all of you going?" Tommy asked, arms folded over his chest as he stared at them. "It's still kind of early, you know."

"Well, we were just going to…go back inside. Right now." Ethan declared, already close to the door.

"Right. I was just on a break from the music anyway." Kira took a swift step back while Trent joined her. "That's all."

Tommy didn't give any of them a chance to say anything else. "I want to see all of you, at my place, this weekend. There's a lot of cleaning and repairs that need to be taken care of, and it'll go a lot faster if we all do it together."

Looks were exchanged at a rate that put light to shame. The girl that Kat didn't recognize shifted a bit. "Dr. Oliver, that doesn't mean us, does it?"

"No, Cassidy." Tommy shook his head, trying and failing to hide the smile on his lips. "Just keep quiet about anything that I haven't actually said you can talk about."

"Got it!" Cassidy and her companion both nodded quickly and headed inside, squirming past the other two, who seemed half-frozen just at the look on Tommy's face.

"Tommy…" Anton started to speak up and Tommy interrupted him, that smile just a little less hidden now.

"I do mean you and Elsa, though. You two should know better about spying on people anyway."

Seeing the looks on their faces, Kat decided that Tommy would have to hold a grand meeting for all of the former Rangers, and tell them exactly what happened this past year that he hadn't gotten around to yet. She had a feeling that the story had only just begun.

**The End**


	6. Something Big Is Coming Through

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Power Rangers Zeo/Turbo/In Space/Dino Thunder  
><strong>Title:<strong> Seven Kisses: Chapter 6: Something Big Is Coming Through  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Kat x Tommy  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> chapter: 8,050||story: 51,042  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance||**Rated:** PG-13  
><strong>Challenge:<strong> 7snogs: Kat x Tommy: Double Night Challenge: prompt #6: mirth  
><strong>Notes:<strong> This takes place after Dino Thunder.  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another. Kiss #6: Of all the kisses they've had, this one is one of the most enjoyable.

* * *

><p>"You're getting married?" The question echoed from dozens of lips over the weeks following Tommy's proposal. His parents, her parents, his brother, her cousins, all of the Rangers and ex-Rangers that they knew, as well as those still active on Aquitar and the Space Rangers, who spent a lot of their time going in between Earth and Mirinoi, keeping an eye out for any trouble from any new, or old villains who'd somehow been spared Zordon's purge.<p>

"You'd think this was a huge surprise or something." Kat chuckled a little as she hung up the phone from her third cousin's enthusiastic assurance that yes, she would be at the wedding, she had nothing at all planned and could do anything at all that Kat needed her to do.

The fact they hadn't even set a date yet hadn't phased her cousin in the slightest. But her cousin was like that.

Tommy lounged back on the couch, having just finished passing the message through some of his more expanded connections in the wider regions of the known galaxy. Though humans were still slowly working on adjusting to the fact they were but one intelligent species in a stellar ocean of uncounted numbers, this wedding would likely give a chance for a lot of those other species to show up. Thankfully most of them looked human enough that with the right clothes, none of the too nosy reporter types would realize who they were and they could have a peaceful visit whenever it actually happened.

"This guest list is getting big." He leaned over to pick it up from the table between them. He wasn't wrong; there had to be over three hundred people listed already. Some people who wanted to come weren't sure if they'd be able to, because of the aforementioned date not having been set. But even without them, there would be a very _big_ crowd.

They would need security. Their identities as former Rangers wasn't known widely, though a few more people knew than had back in the day. Their parents, for example, and siblings, and sometimes relatives of siblings, as in Mr. Trueheart's case. Of course, in his case, Tommy suspected he'd known about the Power Rangers before he and Tommy had ever met one another. The old shaman had never mentioned one way or another and it wasn't something Tommy had ever found the words to ask him.

Besides, he was grateful enough that Mr. Trueheart had told David that Tommy was alive after the incident with Mesogog and the island blowing up. David hadn't lost hope in seeing him for a single moment, and had in fact had his favorite meal waiting for him when he'd managed to get over there to see him.

More than security, they would need to make certain that all of the food was properly sorted and edible for everyone. The Aquitians wouldn't eat fish, of course, and that was probably the least troublesome of the various dietary requirements for the visitors.

At least they didn't have to worry about that just yet. The most important question still hovered over them: when to have it at all.

Kat settled next to him on the couch and he slipped an arm around her, breathing in the scent of her hair. "So when _should_ we have it?"

Tommy distracted himself a little by running his fingers through her hair. That was one thing he did miss about having long hair himself. He'd always rather liked the way Kat's fingers felt there. Maybe he'd grow it out a little before the wedding…David seemed to like having long hair.

Then again, David was in training still to take over as shaman one day, and Tommy was a teacher. There were certain differences in what they could do.

"Tommy? You're not listening to me, are you?" She tweaked his ear and Tommy huffed, focusing his attention back on her.

"I was listening." Really. He was. He just happened to be listening with his fingers as he let the words flow over him. Instead of into his ears, where they belonged.

"Then what did I just say?" Uh-oh, her eyebrow had been raised. He was going to be in trouble if he didn't get this right.

"That we should…" Uh-oh again, he really couldn't think of what she'd just said. He fidgeted some. "Set the date soon?" Please let that be right, please let that be right.

Kat remained quiet for a moment or two and his heart sped up just a fraction. "All right, you win this time." Tommy did not breathe out a sigh of relief. Out loud, anyway. He did try his best to think about the question itself, though.

It couldn't be too soon. He wanted the other ex-Dino Rangers there, and they were still working on getting set up at college and other places. Anton and Elsa were still recovering from their experiences, though they were healthy enough for school administration, which was stressful enough on its own. He and Kat had written little notes next to every name on the list, marking any and all issues that might've come up with their attendance, at least as it was currently known. So finding a time that would work for everyone would require work.

He skimmed over the list again, thinking. Not too soon, with enough time for those from far away to clear the date with their employers and other obligations and get travel preparations made.

"It probably shouldn't be until sometime next year, maybe?" He wasn't especially thrilled by that, since he really did want them to be married soon. But better safe than sorry, especially for a chance to see all of their friends from far away again.

Of course, with Reefside being set where it was, 'far away' was just about everywhere, whether or not the friends in question lived on the planet.

Kat looked at the list as well, biting her lip a fraction. "You're probably right." She clearly didn't like it any better than he did, but saw the need just as clearly. She tapped one finger on her cheek. "What do you think of next summer? Sometime in June or July?"

He ran the date over in his head, trying to match it through everyone else's requirements. "I think that'll do." They could pin down something more specific once they were closer; this would just give them something to consider.

"I never knew getting married could be so complicated." Kat said thoughtfully. "It never seems that way when it's not you, does it?"

"Didn't when Jason and Emily were getting married, I know." Tommy already knew that Jason would be his best man, and David one of the first groomsmen. He'd stood duty as best man for Jason at his own wedding, and there was no way that his brother wouldn't be a part of this. That reminded him of something as well. "Who do you want as your maid of honor?"

Kat frowned as she considered that. "I don't know yet. I'm a little torn between Tanya or Kim." That didn't surprise him either; those two were the ones closest to her, for any number of reasons.

"Well, you don't have to decide that today. Maybe ask both of them and see what they think, though?"

She nodded, lounging back against him as she did. "Maybe we should think about just running off and eloping instead?" The tilt of her mouth and laughter in her eyes told him that she wasn't serious. At least not _very_ serious.

"If we did that, I think there are a lot of people who'd get very mad at us. And most of them know how to deal damage in a lot of interesting ways."

Her lips twitched a little more. "You've got a point there. I suppose we'll have to do this the big way."

"Think of how it will feel when we're looking back on this for anniversaries." Tommy pointed out. "It won't seem so overwhelming then. I hope."

"So do I." Kat breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder. "But no matter what it looks like now, I really wouldn't give it up for anything."

He wrapped one arm around her and held her close. "Neither would I."

* * *

><p>Moment by moments, the days slid by. Every time either of them turned around, something new seemed to crop up that they had to deal with for the wedding, even when they weren't actively trying to plan on it. Gowns and suits had to be located, and that meant figuring out who the wedding party would consist of, to make certain everything fit ahead of time. A catering service needed to be chosen, and informed of all of their guests' special dietary requirements, which meant being much clearer on who would be coming than they'd started off being.<p>

Rings also needed to be bought, and that was something Tommy decided to do as soon as he realized they needed them.

"They've got a lot of good stuff here." Kat said, looking around the jewelry store as they entered. She didn't know how he planned to pay for this on a teacher's salary, but she fully intended to share in the price.

"I know. I've come in here a few times, just looking." Tommy walked over to where the wedding ring display and they both took a long look at the samples available. "See anything you like?"

Before Kat could answer, a quiet voice spoke. "Is there anything I can help you with?" The clerk stood there, dark brown hair pulled back into a neat knot on the base of his neck, watching them with calm eyes.

"We're looking for a set of wedding rings," Kat answered at once. "We're getting married next summer."

"I see." The clerk waved one hand at the selection there. "Do you have any special requirements? Colors that you'd like? We pride ourselves on delivering exactly what the customer wants."

Kat considered the sets before them. All of them looked spectacular in their own ways, each of them gleaming in sets of gold and diamond. None of them completely called to her, though, and while that didn't bother her, she didn't want to spend time running from store to store in search of something that might not exist.

"Do you do custom work?" Tommy asked while she was still checking out the rings. "Because I've been thinking and I'm not sure that what we want really is available without being made."

The clerk raised one eyebrow, and Kat cast a quick glance at Tommy. "You never said anything about custom work." They were going to have a talk about that when they got home.

"I wasn't sure if it was something we'd go with," Tommy confessed, a touch of ruefulness around his lips. "But what do you think of your band having a cat look to it? Like, a little cat on it."

Kat bit her lip, torn between smacking him and sighing. Sighing won out at the moment. She'd always loved cats, even before what happened with Rita, and that hadn't really changed her opinion very much. "That might be…something to look into." She hadn't considered putting what she vaguely considered her real inner creature onto her wedding ring, but the more she thought about it, the more the notion began to appeal to her. "What about you?"

Tommy tilted his head up a fraction and pride gleamed in his eyes. "I'd like mine to have a falcon on it."

She should've known. Not that she was very surprised, but really, the moment he'd suggest the cat, she knew he would want the falcon for his own. She turned to the clerk.

"Is that something you can do? A cat and a falcon?" If they were going to do this, better to know if they could do it here or if they needed to go somewhere else. Angel Grove could probably provide them with someone who knew how to do that kind of work if Reefside couldn't. Angel Grove, she'd learned, could provide almost anything, if you knew where to look for it.

The clerk considered, clearly not having had to do anything like this before. "I'll have to get back to you on that. I'll need to speak with the owner before I can be certain. We do custom work, but no one's ever asked for anything like that before." He looked harder at them, and Kat wondered if he were one of those who'd gotten involved in a monster attack. One could tell them after a while; the ones who always looked wary and concerned no matter what. In Angel Grove, it was harder to find people who didn't have that look than those who did.

But if he were, he said nothing else about it, only took down their names and numbers and promised to speak with the owner as soon as possible.

* * *

><p>Wedding rings. Guest lists. Finding a location for it that would be suitable for everyone. Catering to everyone's tastes. Kat on occasion could not help but wonder if the idea of eloping wasn't such a bad one after all. Not that either of them ever considered it seriously, but sometimes it did seem as if it would be much easier.<p>

"What else do we need to do?" Kat looked over the list the two of them had made. Rings, guests, catering, location, who would have what position in the wedding party, who knew about them being Rangers and who didn't, and thus who the ones who did know would have to be careful speaking to…

"Someone to perform it?" Tommy suggested, looking up from his own work. His eyes darkened for a few moments. "I wish…Zordon…"

He didn't need to finish it. She sighed, covering his hand with her own and squeezing it lightly. "I know. Me too." Though it would've caused plenty of difficulties with some of the guests, it still would've felt far more right than almost anyone else any of them could think of.

Tommy considered, then sat up a little, a sudden curious gleam to his eyes. "What do you think of Dimitria?"

"Dimitria?" Kat sat up as well and looked at him. "What about her?" They'd heard only a little from her since the end of the war, mostly concerned with how she and Divatox were doing on Inquirius.

That still took some getting used to, that Divatox was Dimitria's long-lost twin sister. Exactly how that worked they weren't entirely sure, but since they both seemed happy with the situation, no one wanted to argue about it.

"You think she could do it? Or would do it?" They would probably have to pull some strings somehow to get it legally acknowledged, but with the work the GSA had been doing with other planets and cultures, it likely wouldn't be too hard.

"Let's ask her." One of the benefits to greater contact with the other civilizations in the galaxy involved better communications with those other worlds, and in a very few minutes, Dimitria's veiled visage looked down at them from the communications screen in Tommy's living room.

"Greetings, my friends." Dimitria's voice hadn't changed a bit in the years since they'd last seen her. "I have heard there are good tidings in your future."

"That's right." Kat smiled, touching Tommy's hand. "We're going to get married."

Dimitria bent her head gracefully. "I wish you both the best of luck with your future together. I'm quite certain that Zordon would also be proud of you."

Tommy managed a small smile at that. He understood Andros's reasons for what he did, but it still caused a pang in his heart at the thought of his mentor's loss. "Dimitria, we called to ask you something." It took another moment for him to work the words up. "We were hoping that you could perform the ceremony for us."

It wasn't often that anything surprised Dimitria, so far as any of them knew, but this apparently did it. She remained silent for a few scant breaths, before a smile touched her lips.

"I would be honored."

Kat's answering smile all but glowed. "Thank you!" Words didn't seem quite enough to cover everything that they both wanted them to, but enthusiastic hugs were difficult when millions of miles separated the people in question.

"I will arrive some days before your chosen date, in order to prepare everything. You will have everything in hand by then?"

Tommy and Kat both nodded. "We're going to try, anyway," Kat added, a hint of a rueful smile on her lips. "This getting married is a little harder than I thought it would be."

Dimitria's own smile widened a touch. "Many such events are far more complicated than they appear from the outside. Preparing for a life together is only one of them: and this is only the beginning."

They both knew it was true, and worth every moment. Kat lifted her head with pride. "Thanks, Dimitria." Before she could consider not doing so, she asked something else that was on her mind. "How is Divatox doing?"

"Quite well indeed." Dimitria's smile now gleamed with pride and joy of her own. "She and I have spent much time getting to know one another. She will be attending with me."

Divatox, like all of their reformed enemies, had made it to the guest list. Neither Tommy nor Kat held any real grudges, not even against Rita.

"We'll see you both there, then." Tommy nodded, and Dimitria again bent her head.

"We both look forward to it. Farewell, my friends." The screen flickered for a few moments, then faded into darkness.

Kat slouched back against the couch, tension seeping out of her. "That was probably the least stressful part of this whole thing so far."

"Don't I know it." He kept track of the guest list, more or less, since he had practice keeping in touch with various Power Rangers from all the teams and the many corners of the galaxy so many of them had scattered to over the years. He picked up the tablet with the list on it and made the notations. "What are we going to do about the people who don't know?"

Kat closed her eyes in the hopes this would help her think better. She'd never noticed that it especially had, but she could focus a little more, which was almost the same thing. "Maybe we should tell them. It's not the same kind of secret for us that it used to be."

"Maybe." He'd given thought to that more than once already himself. He would've liked to talk to Zordon about it. He would've liked to talk to him about many things, but that hadn't really been possible since the day he and Alpha-5 left the planet. "Let's think about it for now."

Kat agreed; it wasn't so vital they had to decide at that very moment. Not like making up her mind on what her gown and those of her bridesmaids would look like.

All in all, this was another notch on the list of matters that they needed to work through for the wedding. But a very important notch indeed.

* * *

><p>Kat turned the ring over in her hand carefully, admiring how it gleamed in the light. She'd seen the sketches that the designer provided in accordance with her and Tommy's descriptions of what they wanted, but they were nothing at all compared to the actual metal she held now.<p>

"It's beautiful." A glimmering golden cat shimmered in the light of the jewelry store, the tail forming the band of the ring, reaching around to touch the cat's mouth. Twin diamond chips, just large enough to be seen, glimmered in the cat's eyes.

She looked over to see the ring Tommy held; it was every bit as beautiful as her own, the gold as gleaming and burnished, the falcon's wings forming the band, and tiny diamonds for eyes as well there. She brushed the tip of her finger over it and looked at him.

"It's you." It really was. Every inch of the design spoke of Tommy's strength and passion, his determination to do what was right, and his fierce, unyielding dedication to that which he believed in.

Tommy grinned at her, that same happy grin that she recalled having seen the day they'd first met. Not all of her memories of being Rita's pawn were happy ones, but that one was one she'd never give up for any reason.

"That's you, too." He gestured toward the cat. "I couldn't think of anything better for this."

The designer and the store manager both beamed at them. "We're glad that you approve," the designer told them. "That was some of the most unique work I've been asked to do."

"We can't thank you enough." Kat carefully set the ring back into the box and closed it with more than a little reluctance. These would be kept in the safe in Tommy's home, right next to their blasters, where no one would be able to steal them, until the wedding day.

Once the rings were paid for and bagged, the two of them headed home, few words being exchanged, each of them deep in their own thoughts.

It wasn't until they were curled up together, supposedly watching the evening news, and neither of them actually paying attention to it, that Kat spoke.

"It really feels so much more real now. We have the rings. We've got the list a lot more organized than it was when we started. Dimitria's going to do the ceremony. It feels like…it's really going to happen."

Tommy leaned over so he could rest his head on hers. "It does." He didn't want to say this scared him, but a part of him that had never quailed in any battle now twitched nervously. He looked forward to what was to come with all of his heart, but the whole reality of it loomed over them both.

"Are we going to have kids?" Kat wasn't sure where the question itself came from. Like so many others it lurked in the very back of her mind, awaiting the moment when it could spring out and startle them both.

Tommy blinked a few times at that. "I …don't know." He'd sort of imagined it, but like so much else about all of this, he hadn't _thought_ about it with any real seriousness. "Do you want to?"

"I wouldn't mind one or two." Kat admitted. She'd given it a few thoughts over the years, usually whenever she or Tommy were in some kind of life-threatening danger. She'd considered it more than once during the battle in Angel Grove against Astronema's forces.

"So I guess that's a yes." If being married sent shivers of awe and confusion all through Tommy, the concept of being a father, having a child he and Kat could raise together, did so even more.

Kat wrapped one arm around Tommy and held him close, breathing in his rich scent. "It really _is_ real." Real, and growing more so with every day.

* * *

><p>Wedding invitations filled the mail. Arrangements of all kinds grew from notes to solid plans. People from near and far made their travel plans and as the day grew nearer, began to gather in Reefside. For all that Angel Grove was where they'd begun, Reefside was where they decided to live their lives together, so that was where this new era would begin.<p>

The sun rose into a clear blue sky on the appointed day, and all of the guests wended their various ways to the large park where Kat and Tommy would take their vows to one another. People from multiple planets settled in, ex-Rangers, ex-villains, relatives, friends, those who were a mix of both, and far, far more.

Kat peeked out from behind the curtain in the portable changing room set up for her and her bridesmaids. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of all the people there.

"I can't believe it," she murmured. "They're all there." Not quite everyone had been able to come, but many, many more had, and some had even brought friends. She peeked out again and blinked before turning to her aunt. "Is that James? I almost didn't recognize him. He's grown so much."

"He likes being called Jim now." Her aunt smiled at her. "And he really has."

Kat shook her head in amazement. The last she'd seen her cousin, he hadn't exactly been scrawny, but he'd definitely gained far more inches of height than she'd expected him to. She wanted to look again, but there wasn't much time left.

Dresses were settled into, shoes slipped on, everything that needed to be tied was tied, and everyone checked everyone else's make-up. Kat tried to remember how to breathe, but didn't feel she was very good at it, even as the line settled into place.

Kim squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You look great, Kat. Tommy better appreciate you, or else." Her eyes danced warmly as she stepped into her place, and Kat found herself returning the grin. "You guys had better appreciate each other, really."

"We will." Kat promised. She could think of few others she'd want to spend her entire life with other than Tommy. Appreciate didn't even begin to cover it.

* * *

><p>One by one the bridesmaids and groomsmen lined up and began the procession out. Kat took several deep breaths and focused on what she needed to do and not on how nervous she was. It didn't help matters that what she needed to do was the very reason she was nervous in the first place, but she did her best anyway.<p>

She stepped out into the brilliant sunshine, moving forward with careful steps. She could see everyone there, all of them turned to watch as she walked toward Tommy. Dimitria stood at the far end of the aisle, robed in her usual glimmering white that somehow seemed more festive than usual today, and a warmer smile than Kat had ever seen on her lips.

Soft murmurs and whispers rushed through the crowd ahead of her, but none of it seemed to make sense. She was all right with that. She didn't want to get distracted today. She had enough to think about with how her heart pounded in her chest and hoping she remembered the answers to all of the questions that would be asked.

Finally she arrived at her place beside Tommy, offering a smile of greeting to him and to Dimitria. Her heartrate slowed down a fraction and she managed to get herself thinking properly, or at least not with every thought skittering endlessly from one subject to another.

"Greetings to all on this most joyous of occasions." Dimitria spoke the opening words of the ceremony. "I have known Katherine and Thomas for some time, and it is with great joy that I stand here today to witness, with all of you, the fulfillment of their love for one another. I do not bind them to each other, for only they can do that, by their own choice."

A few curious noises came from the crowd, mostly those who weren't aware of Kat and Tommy's connections to the Power Rangers. But no one dared interrupt, not with all the people skilled in various martial arts (including the groom) approving of the unusual ceremony.

"Katherine and Thomas have chosen to write their own vows for today." Dimitria continued, gesturing to Kat to begin. The blonde nodded and turned to face Tommy directly, taking his hand in hers as she did.

"Tommy, I love you. I haven't always, and we didn't meet on the real best of terms, but I love you now, and I can't see any way I'll ever stop loving you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I hope you want the same with me." She paused for a moment of breath before she kept going. "I pledge to be honest, loving, and caring with you, and to watch out for you as you watch out for me. Any problems that we have, I will do my best to work them out with you, and I promise to always listen to what you have to say about everything."

Tommy smiled at that, squeezing her hand as he did. "Kat, I love you. Doesn't matter to me how we met, because that's one of the things that led us to being here today. Sometimes something that starts off wrong can lead into something even better." He didn't need to say anything more for those in the know to remember the Evil Green Ranger and all that he'd gone on to do. "I'll love you for the rest of my life, and if there's life after that…well, I guess we'll find out then. I pledge to be honest, loving, and caring with you, and to watch out for you as you watch out for me. Whatever problems turn up, we're going to work on them together, because that's how we can work them out the best. And if you've ever got something to say and I'm not listening, feel free to smack me. Or for any other reason that might turn up."

A low ripple of laughter passed through the audience, and Kat didn't bother hiding her own, nor did Dimitria.

Justin stepped forward, holding a soft velvet cushion on which their rings rested side by side. Kat picked up the golden cat ring and slipped it onto Tommy's hand.

"With this ring, we're always together," she promised, wrapping her fingers around it for a few moments. Tommy picked up the golden falcon ring and reached for her hand again.

"With this ring, we're always together." And now it rested on her own hand, his symbol with her, as hers was with him.

Dimitria held out her hands over their clasped hands. "By the customs and laws of this world, I announce to one and all that Katherine and Thomas are one."

Cheers and congratulations exploded into the air, and Kat waited no longer, but pulled Tommy close and kissed him warmly. He returned with every bit of her enthusiasm, arm going around her to hold her close to him as well.

"I love you," he murmured, and she leaned her head against him for a few seconds.

"I love you."

* * *

><p>After that came the long line of the reception, with the bride and groom greeting as many of their guests who wanted to say hello to them. This turned out to be most of them, with more than one wanting to know who Dimitria was and why some of the guests were known Power Rangers.<p>

"Connections through the GSA," Tommy told them with a slightly mysterious nod. Kat mimicked the nod, adding in a haunting little smile.

"The firm I work for has a lot of connections to other design and architecture firms in places like Mariner Bay and Angel Grove," she added in. She said nothing more; it gave the exact impression that she wanted it to. Besides, it had the added benefit of being the truth. The architectural firm she worked for did indeed have connections in virtually every city that had ever been touched by alien or demonic attack. It made for good business in building repair, redesign, and construction.

"Nice to see you again, Kat." That familiar accent sent a warm feeling of home through Kat as she greeted her young cousin.

"Likewise, Jim." Kat nodded at him and at his companion. "How's Karen doing?"

The young man reached behind himself to touch his fingers to Karen's snout. "She's growing up really well." Karen stretched out her mouth in a greeting and Kat nodded back. Karen had definitely developed more of a personality since the last time Kat had seen her.

Jim cast a quick glance at Tommy, whose attention hadn't moved off Karen since he'd first seen her. "Good to meet you too, Mr. Oliver."

Tommy swallowed once or twice, then focused himself on Jim. "You can call me Tommy." His gaze flicked back to Karen. "Is she…"

"She's a crocodile." Jim lightly punched his companion's side, grinning as he did. "We've been best friends since we were both little. Best friend I've ever had."

Before Tommy could ask anything else, Jim nodded to both of them and headed over to the refreshment stand. Tommy looked after him, then looked back at Kat.

"Your cousin is carrying a crocodile on his back. A live crocodile."

Kat shrugged a little. "Yes. And?" Really, what was he so bothered about? "She's legally registered as his service animal, because of his eye."

Tommy clearly wanted to ask about that, but more people were coming, and there was far too much for them to do to focus on just one person right now, no matter how interesting a one-eyed teenager with a seeing-eye crocodile was.

* * *

><p>Toasts were made to the new couple's future happiness. Cake was sliced and shared between them. Speeches were given, the content of which neither Kat nor Tommy could've clearly recalled five minutes afterward, much less at any later point. Gifts of many kinds remained piled up on the table for later sorting through, but one in particular the giver chose to deliver in person.<p>

"Kat, Tommy." Prince Dex of Edenoi stepped up to the two of them as they made small talk with Emily and Jason. He looked very human in his suit; legacy of the years he'd spent in Leawood. "I wish to give you this to celebrate your nuptials."

He held out a small crystal toward them, which Kat reached for after a quick look to Tommy. "Thank you." She wasn't certain of what else to say; it did look pretty, light reflecting from it in a lovely rainbow, but that was all she could see.

Dex smiled, a hint of amusement on his lips. "There are co ordinates there for the planet Relevan. The kings and queens of Edenoi have patronized Relevan for thousands of years when they wed. The information in there will allow you access to the same class of treatment that I would have if I were there."

_A royal honeymoon?_ Once again Kat looked at Tommy, but this time, both of them were far more in awe of this gift.

"Dex, you didn't have to do anything like this." Tommy wasn't sure if he wanted to accept it or not. They'd made a few honeymoon plans, though most of them had simply involved a remote hotel and as much time together as they could manage.

The young prince turned a stern look to them. "You helped me when I needed it. This is the very least that I can do."

"I …thank you." Tommy decided this wasn't something to argue about. It wouldn't be that much of a change, except for being farther out of touch than they'd expected. "Thank you very much."

Dex nodded, bid them farewell, and moved on to where his Earth family stood chatting with some of the other guests. Kat watched him go before she turned back to Tommy.

"This is going to be interesting, isn't it?"

"I think it already is."

* * *

><p>No matter how good a party is, it must end sooner or later, and this one, as with virtually all wedding parties, ended with the bride and groom heading off together. One small matter did need taking care of before they left, however.<p>

"Billy, we've got a question." Tommy nodded toward the crystal that Kat held out to him. "Dex gave that to us so we could go to Relevan. Think you can help?"

With silent permission from Kat, Billy picked up the crystal and examined it, that familiar quirk to his lips as he thought the matter through.

"I think I should be able to do it. Give me a few minutes to get in touch with them so they'll know you're coming." He headed off to wherever he needed to go to communicate with distant plants. Kat and Tommy had both learned long ago never to question some of what Billy did. It generally led to headaches all around.

"So, going to Relevan?" A not entirely familiar voice spoke up from behind them, and Tommy turned to see a man and woman there. Both of them looked a little older than he and Kat were, but gave off an impression of being far, far older.

"It's a beautiful place," the woman added, a ghostly familiar smile curving her lips up. "I loved it when we went there."

Kat blinked at them, her attention focusing on the woman. "Rita? Zedd?"

Tommy had almost forgotten they'd even been on the guest list in the first place, but they both nodded at Kat's naming of them. "I wasn't expecting to see you here." He reached out to shake both of their hands. "You're looking good.

That might not have been the wisest of phrasings, but neither seemed to take any offense at it. Zedd only shrugged. "We're doing all right. I can't say that I ever expected to be here, though. Not even after what Zordon did for us."

"Well, you could say that you kind of brought us together." Kat teased, bumping her elbow against Tommy's arm as she did. "And we've all come a long way since then, too."

"We have indeed." Rita agreed, looking far more relaxed and less likely to complain about a headache than Tommy had ever seen her before. "Thank you for inviting us."

"It was our pleasure." Tommy wasn't sure of how one had small talk at one's wedding reception with people who had once tried to take over the world, but he did his best anyway. "I hope everything's been working out for you both."

Zedd shrugged. "There's nothing to complain about. We manage."

Tommy knew they'd moved to a small planet in a distant system, probably wanting a new start and all of that. He kept just enough tabs on them so he would know if anyone tried to give them trouble for what they'd once done, or if they started trying to cause trouble again. This was probably the most peaceful their lives had been in centuries, and he truly did wish them well.

"Guys." Billy interrupted before matters could get any more awkward than they already were. "I've got everything set up for you." He gave only a passing glance to Rita and Zedd, but one that said he knew who they were as well. He gave more of his attention to Kat and Tommy right now, though. "Just let me know and I'll get you there."

"Right." Tommy glanced over to Zedd and Rita. "Good to see you. But we've kind of got to be going now."

"Of course, of course." Zedd waved them away. "Enjoy your honeymoon!"

As they headed away, Billy kept in step with them. "You should probably drive off like you intended to, but stop when you get to Hayley's. I'll meet you there and get you on the way."

"Got it." Kat nodded; this almost felt as if they were going on a secret mission, if not a little more exciting.

* * *

><p>When they made it to Hayley's, still with bits of rice and streamers stuck in annoying places on them from their well-wishers, both Tommy and Kat wanted more than anything to just find a place to sit down and rest. After all the lead-up to the day and the constant stream of stress and excitement that was the day itself, rest called more than anything else did.<p>

Billy already stood just inside the door waiting for them. Tommy decided not to ask if Hayley were involved in any way with this. He'd figure it all out later, when he could think better.

"Everyone ready?" Billy asked, something blinking and beeping in his hand. "They're all ready for you at the resort. You're even checked in; they'll have someone ready to show you to your room once you get there."

Kat breathed out a sigh of relief; she wasn't certain she could spell her own name in English right now, let alone whatever other language they might require there.

"Thanks, Billy. We owe you one for this."

"Not at all." Their old friend just smiled at them. "Congratulations to both of you. You've probably heard it enough today, but once more won't hurt, will it?"

Tommy decided it was better not to say anything just yet. Billy tapped something on whatever it was in his hands. "See you all later," he said, before a rainbow beam of light emitted from the end of it to wash all over the two of them, and the Cyberspace faded away, replaced by the familiar sensation of teleportation.

Only a few seconds passed before the world reappeared in front of them. In the interests of strict accuracy, it was _a_ world, not the world they were used to. They stood on a silvery disc in a room of glistening pale white stone, marked at various positions with bands of silver and gold. In front of them stood a young woman, who looked mostly human save for her dark green skin and deep blue hair. She wore a long gown that complemented her coloring with a silver-trimmed sash around her waist, and bowed as their attention focused on her.

"Greetings, Thomas and Katherine, former Rangers of Earth. I am-" What she said next didn't hold any meaning for either of them, and she didn't seem surprised by this. "You may call me Selan. It is the closest approximation of my name into your language. Now, if you would please follow me, I will take you to your suite."

"Thanks." Tommy found a scrap of manners that he wasn't too worn out to use and followed after her.

Selan guided them through several fantastically decorated corridors, tapestries, paintings, and holograms of various scenes of incredible natural beauty from all over the galaxy depicted. The building materials weren't just of the metals and stone that they knew from Earth, but ones that neither of them could name at all, from the same reach of planets and cultures that the decorations came from.

"There's no way I'm not going to get lost here," Kat half-muttered, trying to keep herself moving as she did.

"Me either." Tommy was surprised they weren't already lost. He hoped Selan at least knew her way around.

Their guide gave him an amused look. "There are maps that can show guests their way. Or you can ask anyone who works here." She gestured to what she wore. "This is our uniform. Anyone who wears this will be glad to help you."

At last they stopped outside of a doorway, with the door being a stream of silver-blue light. "This is your suite." She handed over a crystal the same shade as the energy field. "Set this there to leave or enter. No one can get in without you doing that."

Tommy set the crystal into the small depression she indicated and the field faded away at once. "Thank you." He wanted to say something else but nothing came to mind beyond the great need to rest.

"It's my pleasure. If there's anything you need, you can call…" She hesitated, searching for the words for a brief moment. "chamber service, and it will be provided to you." Selan bowed her head and started down the corridor as soon as they entered.

The door sealed up behind them when they were no more than a few paces into the room. Kat was certain that once she'd slept, she'd be amazed at it all, but for now, she wanted to know where the bedroom was, and where their luggage was. She couldn't remember having talked to Billy about that at all.

"Which way?" She murmured, looking at three or four archways that could lead to almost anywhere. She hoped at least one would be a bathroom. She wanted a shower almost as much as she wanted to get some sleep.

Tommy made his way over to one of those doorways while she tried another. She wasn't sure who had better luck, since he announced the discovery of the bathroom as soon as she realized she'd found the bedroom. Stacked in one corner of the room sat their luggage, with the door to what had to be a wardrobe opened to show that their clothes were already unpacked.

For all of their weariness, it didn't take long before they'd enjoyed a hot bath together, in a tub that made the fanciest hot tub either of them had ever seen look like little more than a wooden bucket and a few bubbles. Kat wasn't even sure how to describe some of the scents from the oils and lotions ranged to one side, in enough variety to satisfy both of their interests.

"We are going to be very spoiled by the time this is over with," she murmured, wondering if there was any way she could get some of these delivered to Earth.

Tommy pulled her closer, arms slick with water and soap. "I'm jealous. I should be the one spoiling you." He brushed his lips against her cheek in a damp kiss. "Do you have any idea of what time it is?"

She blinked, looking around until she spied something that resembled a clock, though the time didn't mean anything to her the way they measured it here. It had already been edging close to sundown when they'd left the reception, and she didn't know how much time they'd spent getting to here from the arrival room. "Late?" That was about all she was certain of. Very late.

"Let's go to bed."

For all that she'd been worn out before, something in the bathwater must've helped to revive her, since all thoughts of sleep vanished from Kat's mind at those words. Bed, yes. Sleep could wait just a little longer.

Stars in unfamiliar constellations peppered the night sky, visible through the very top of the windows as they made it into the bedroom, holding onto one another and giggling in that way that only those are far too exhausted or excited to actually sleep can. The bed rolled beneath them, a marvel of firm plushness, with sheets that put the finest silk of Earth to shame. Kat wondered if she'd ever figure out what all of this was made of and wondered slightly more if it mattered. She had so much else to think about.

She drew closer to Tommy, kissing him over and over, his own lips ghosting over hers in return. This was not the first time they'd been with one another, but tonight it held a special kind of reverence, something to mark the beginning of their lives together.

Much, much later, satisfied with one another and with the first edge of sleep taken off by an hour or so of dozing, Kat stared up at those stars and wondered what the rest of their future might bring. For all intents and purposes, she was still just starting out as an architect, and while Tommy was a teacher, he also watched over the Earth with all the protectiveness of a fully powered Power Ranger.

Whatever the future might bring, it was something that they would face together. She'd made her mind up on that years ago and all the events of today had done was confirm it for everyone else. She looked down at where their hands intertwined, one golden cat, one golden falcon, rings gleaming together in pale strands of moonlight and starlight. She curled up into him, her breathing slowly steadying, eyes sliding closed, and all other thoughts drifting away.

Tommy kept his own eyes open just a little longer, but not very much. He leaned his head close enough to Kat to breathe in her own personal fragrance, before he relaxed as well, falling into a deep sleep. They had a lot to look forward to and the sooner they prepared for it, the better.

**The End  
><strong>


	7. Life Goes On

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Power Rangers Zeo/Turbo/In Space/Dino Thunder  
><strong>Title:<strong> Seven Kisses: Chapter 7: Life Goes On  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Kat x Tommy  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> chapter: 9,566||story: 60,608  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance||**Rated:** PG-13  
><strong>Challenge:<strong> snogs: Kat x Tommy: Double Night Challenge: prompt #7: consume  
><strong>Notes:<strong> This takes place some years after the previous one.  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another. Kiss #7: The wheel of life turns on and on.

* * *

><p>After all that he and Kat had been through in their lives since high school, it still startled Tommy every so often to return home after a day of work, as if they were any ordinary couple. There were days when he almost expected to wake up and find this all a dream, that he was still a high school student and everything involving Power Rangers and aliens and dating and getting married hadn't happened yet.<p>

Normally he had those dreams after eating too much dessert or when he looked in the mirror before bed and tried to figure out if those were gray hairs or not. None of his students stressed him quite as much as his first year teaching had, but he always wondered.

One particular afternoon, he returned home to find Kat's car already in the driveway. That wasn't common; she tended to work later than he did most of the time. He tensed a fraction before he remembered today she'd had her doctor's appointment.

_I hope everything's all right. That nausea of hers better not be something serious._

He headed up into the house, wondering what to do about dinner. Normally whoever made it home first cooked, but until he knew what happened at the doctor's, he wasn't going to expect Kat to do anything.

_Maybe we can order in._ That was always an interesting alternative. Reefside had a lot of good restaurants that provided delivery.

Kat lay on the couch in the living room, eyes closed, and he moved quietly once he saw her there, not wanting to interrupt her if she were napping.

"Kat?" He murmured her name, just to see if she reacted to it at all.

"Hey, Tommy." She didn't look up or open her eyes, and she sounded…nervous, somehow. Tommy's tension flared up again.

"Everything all right? What did the doctor have to say?" He dropped his briefcase and jacket beside the table and moved over to sit beside her, thoughts about dinner forgotten for the moment.

Kat cracked one eye and smiled at him. "Well, I'm not sick." She didn't move, and Tommy's guts twisted in the most unpleasant way. Her smiling tried to reassure him, but he wanted to hear what it was from her before he truly felt reassured. "I've got some news, Tommy."

"You do?" He tilted his hand, taking her hand as he did. Her fingers tightened against his, warm and supportive. "What is it?"

He wanted it to be good news. He wanted it to be the best news.

He wasn't at all expecting the next two words out of her mouth. For the rest of his life, he was certain he'd been more prepared to become the Evil Green Ranger than he had for this.

"I'm pregnant."

Tommy's jaw worked as he tried to process what she'd told him. He'd never imagined those two words being directed toward him. He took a deep breath, staring at her. "You're…"

"Pregnant." Her smile lit up her eyes and Tommy tried to remember what it was like to breathe air. He wrapped his arms around her as best that he could given their positions and leaned his head against her, hardly daring to believe what he felt in his arms was actually real. Surely this was a dream? How could it be anything else?

Kat's hands crept up to touch his face, tilting his head back so they looked into one another's arms. "I'm about three months along. That's why I haven't been feeling so great lately."

He nodded, hardly thinking a single coherent thought beyond the recurring 'pregnant'. He'd been worried about her nausea for over a week now. He'd had a thousand nightmarish ideas about what the problem could be, but to find out it was _this_…his grip tightened on her more.

"When should we tell people?" The idea of not telling his friends and family never crossed his mind. David would be thrilled to know he was going to be an uncle, and their parents would be grandparents. And all of their friends…this kid would be one of the most protected in the entire world, with the possible exception of Emily and Jason's firstborn.

"Let's wait a little while." Kat decided, threading her fingers through his hair. He'd begun to let it grow a little, but not too much. There were certain rules he had to follow at the school. Though Elsa _was_ starting to be a little less strict on such matters. He'd take that one bit at a time.

He nodded; there wasn't a rush for it. So long as they let everyone know before the child was actually born, it would be all right.

"So, boy or girl? Or did you find out?"

Kat chuckled at that. "I want to be surprised. It's kind of a family tradition. We don't ever find out until the kid's born. That's how my mother did it, and hers, and so on. My parents would fly over here specifically to glare at me if I didn't do it."

Tommy wiggled around until they both lay on the couch side by side. "All right. Then we'll be surprised together." He wasn't sure of what he wanted their child to be anyway, other than healthy and loved. He was certain they had the 'loved' part down, and he knew Kat would make certain about the 'healthy' part.

He knew it was far too soon to hear a heartbeat, especially without any kind of special equipment, but he leaned his head against her stomach anyway. He liked the idea of knowing that a small life that they'd created together lived there.

"Hi there," he murmured, resting one hand beside his head. "Glad to meet you. I'm your… your daddy."

Tommy breathed in as he heard himself say the words for the first time ever. He was going to be a father. He _was_ a father.

He didn't faint. But for the first time ever, he understood why some people did.

* * *

><p>The announcement ended up going out the following month. Kat took the intervening time to begin the process of adjusting to the fact there would be another Hillard-Oliver in the world. Not that there were many of those in the first place, but to have another one hadn't been something she'd expected. They hadn't especially tried for this, but neither of them had been actively avoiding it for months, either.<p>

It had been something mutual between them, a silent agreement that they were indeed in a position to care for someone more than the two of them, and if the whims of fate allowed for a third, then so be it. So specific methods of birth control were quietly set aside, and they'd allowed nature to take its course.

And now it had.

Kat found she spent at least part of her day staring at her stomach. There wasn't any swell to see there yet, but she knew what was in there anyway. She read all of the literature that she could find on development and how to keep herself healthy and all of it rushed around in her head, clashing and confusing her more than anything else.

But at the same time, she found herself comforted. She wasn't the only person in the world who had ever gone through this. More than enough people had that she knew she'd make it through fine.

So, once she'd settled all of that in her head, the announcement was made up and sent off to friends, relatives, and anyone else who had a reason to know about their first child being born in another six months.

And as happened so many times before, someone who had _no_ business finding out did just that.

* * *

><p>"Interesting." A golden-armored hand held the scrap of paper between strong fingers. Scorpina hadn't been on Earth in years, not since shortly after the defeat of Astronema and Dark Spectre. But now she thought there might be a reason for her to return.<p>

**What is it you've learned?** The voice whispered through her mind, dark and terrifying, especially to anyone who might've thought the speaker was dead.

He somewhat was, but with the greater powers of evil, dead didn't mean they were completely unable to communicate. Or to function.

"It seems two former Power Rangers are having a baby together." Scorpina's lip curled as she spoke. The idea of children didn't horrify her; there always should be someone to take on the new mantle of evil. The idea of _Power Rangers_ having children infuriated her. Didn't they have anything better to do with their time?

**Excellent.**

Scorpina turned to stare at the small chunk of flesh and evil that rested underneath a sphere of glass. "What?" Her only interest in this offspring would be to see if she could somehow destroy Kat or Tommy. Or possibly both of them. She wasn't that particular.

**This is what I have been waiting for.**

She stepped closer, eyes narrowing. "What are you talking about?" She knew they'd searched for a way to restore him to his full strength for years, but what did an unborn child have to do with it?

**Here.** There was a faint moment of tension, the world around them flickering for a few moments. Then a heavy tome appeared before her and Scorpina snatched it out of the air before it could fall. She frowned more at it. Spells weren't her forte; that had always been Rita's work, or Zedd's. She'd focused her energies on fighting.

The book fell open even as she touched it, pages spinning by until they arrived at the place they searched. Words, runes, and diagrams lay before her and she had to read through it three times before it clicked in her mind.

"You want to possess the child's body when it's born?" Well, that would likely put him in the position that he wanted, but it wasn't one she would've enjoyed. She'd already spent centuries growing up. Why go through it all over again?

**Once I have possession of it, I can shape it to my will. This is what I've searched for all this time. The parents have both been touched by evil. Their child will have the residue of that within its aura. I will be able to use that. But only if I take it in the moment of its birth.**

Scorpina knew what that meant. "Is there any other way?" The whole idea revolted her on some level. But she'd made a bargain with him, and this was part of her side of it, to find a way to have him achieve full power once again.

**None that would work as swiftly, or that has the best chance of success.**

As much as she disliked the notion, Scorpina knew that she would do as he desired. It would take time before the child was ready to be born, but that meant there was time to get everything that would be needed. Some of the ingredients for the potions involved were rare almost to the point of being extinct. She would have to spend a great deal of time looking for them all.

Perhaps in that search she could also find another way, one that wouldn't involve drawing the wrath of virtually every Power Ranger, active or otherwise, in the universe. She'd spent the last few years hidden away from them all, refusing to let them so much as know that she existed, and this would finish all of that, one way or the other.

**You need not fear.** And of course he knew what was going through her thoughts. He always did. **There is no way that this can fail.**

"Do I need to remind you of everyone else who ever thought that and where they all are now?" She had a list. She'd memorized the list. It was much, much longer than the opposing list of 'villains who succeeded in their goals after the Power Rangers knew what those goals were'.

**Scorpina.** He didn't need a face for her to know the way he would look at her if he had one.

"I'll do it." She'd agreed to this when she'd first found him anyway. She just hadn't had any idea that it would involve something so hazardous. She'd imagined that they would find a way that would involve them erupting out of the darkest part of the cosmos where the Rangers couldn't find them and destroying them all without giving them the chance to fight back.

She looked over the spellbook again, starting to chart out what she had on hand and what would need to be bought, stolen, or acquired from the current owner. What she wouldn't do for the cause of evil.

* * *

><p>Kat hadn't made up her mind if she genuinely liked being pregnant or not. The cravings weren't all that interesting, nothing like what she'd read in the magazines, and the swollen ankles and backache as her center of gravity shifted made moving around more than a little difficult. She liked the idea of having a child, but the idea of carrying one hadn't yet grown on her.<p>

"At least it doesn't last forever?" Kim suggested as they got ready for the baby shower. "Imagine if it were longer than nine months!"

Kat groaned, slouching down halfway at the thought and halfway to ease the stress on her back and shoulders. "I don't even want to think about it."

Kim patted her shoulder comfortingly, checking out the spread of food. They had enough for everyone who was coming and a little more besides. There were games and puzzles and a place for gifts. This wasn't the first baby shower that the ex-Power Rangers had thrown for one of their own, or close to one of their own. Emily hadn't ever been a Ranger, but being married to Jason made her close enough. They knew how to do this now.

"Still not going to try to find out what flavor you're getting?" Trini asked, peeking around the corner from the kitchen. Kat shook her head at once.

"Family rule." Kat rather liked the idea of being surprised. She and Tommy spend at least part of most evenings coming up with names for their child. She leaned a little toward ones that weren't gender specific, having something of a slight preference for those. She hadn't yet noticed anything in Tommy's choice to indicate a preference, but thought he favored female names a little.

Kim glanced out the window. "They should start getting here soon." The party was supposed to begin shortly, and not quite everyone had arrived yet. The three of them had done their best getting everything set up, with Trini and Kim doing the most of it since Kat tired easily these days.

Kat settled herself onto the couch and closed her eyes. The doctor told her that everything was in order and both she and her baby were perfectly healthy, but it still took a lot out of her to do most things. She mailed in most of her work to the office for now. It was easier for her to focus while at home than in her office anyway. She couldn't help but look forward to going back, though.

Even without her eyes open, she could hear the other people as they started to arrive, by multiple means of transportation. Cars and teleportation for the most part were the rule of the day. She fought off a yawn and opened her eyes, smiling at her guests.

"Glad you all could make it." She waved briefly, not yet in the mood to stand up, and accepted a drink when a round of them passed by.

"As if we'd miss this." Aisha gave her a fond look and Kat smiled back at her. "You look great, Kat." "Thanks." Kat managed to straighten up enough so she didn't feel like falling asleep if she closed her eyes. She sipped the drink; it was something she and Tommy got a constant supply of from Mirinoi. It wasn't like an Earth-based energy drink, but it contained something more than ordinary water, something that kept her going a little more these days. Their doctor had checked it out and made certain that it wouldn't harm her or the baby, for which Kat was grateful. She enjoyed the taste of the drink and didn't want to give it up, even for a few months. It even kept her more alert than coffee ever had, and tasted better.

The various attendees settled in, chatting about a multitude of subjects. None of them were active Rangers at the moment, but that didn't give them any lack of topics to cover. By Kat's request, they didn't keep everything to pregnancy and babies. This was a baby shower, but they could talk about anything else that came to mind.

Despite not being active Rangers, the topic of 'work', so to speak, wasn't one very far from any of their minds.

"Has anyone noticed anything stirring up?" Kat wondered. There hadn't really been that much going on for a while; a few groups of villains popped up now and then, but there were always Power Rangers who turned up equally quickly to take care of them. They were generally pretty efficient, taking care of the issue inside of a year or so. Kat couldn't help but be impressed, thinking of how long it had taken her and her friends to get their own enemies under control.

"Nothing very spectacular." Karone nibbled at one of the cakes, leaning back in her chair. "I've heard a few rumors coming from Onyx, but nothing serious."

Even after Zordon's sacrifice, Onyx remained a center of activity for those who walked on the darker side of the cosmos. Nothing close to what it had been before, but there would always be evil and those who needed, or chose, to work with evil, for whatever their reasons. At least with Onyx, they knew what to expect and mostly where to look.

"I wonder if things are actually calming down?" Kim suggested. No one said anything for a few moments, then the entire group burst out into laughter. As if _that_ would ever happen. It might take years, if not decades, but evil would always rise up again. They all knew that, some more intimately than others.

* * *

><p>Eventually, games played and riddles and jokes told, food eaten and the remains cleared away, gifts given and happily squealed over, all of the guests headed away, most with admonitions for Kat and Tommy to let them know if anything at all was needed for any reason. Kat promised that she would do just that, and like virtually everyone anywhere when such a promise was made, didn't think there would ever be a time when she'd need them. She was having a baby, not going off to defend the world from the forces of raw evil again.<p>

The last person to leave was Rita, no longer Repulsa, and she paused at the door, looking at Kat. "I've got another gift for you," she said, her voice low and hesitant. She'd been quiet throughout most of the party, as if still unsure of her place among them even after all these years. But now she lifted one hand and twisted it, sending a spray of pale blue sparkles through the air that gathered and solidified into a sapphire-blue pendant hung from a chain of gold.

"Among my family, there's a certain traditional gift given to someone expecting, to protect them and the unborn." Rita looked down at the pendent, shaped like a flickering flame. Her lips quirked as she looked back toward Kat. "Traditionally it's meant to be protection against _good_, but I made this one to protect against evil." She touched one fingertip to it before she offered it toward the former Ranger. "Will you accept it?" She hesitated before she spoke again. "If you don't, I understand."

Years ago, Kat would never have trusted a single thing coming from Rita's lips. These days were different, not just in the passage of time, but in the fact she knew Rita _could_ be trusted now. She reached out to accept the pendant. "I will."

_I don't think there's anything I need to be protected from, but it is pretty anyway._ And the thought definitely warmed her heart.

* * *

><p>Tommy arrived home shortly not long after Rita left and found Kat lounging on the living room couch once again. The Mirinoi water helped, but she still needed to rest after something like a party.<p>

"Did you have a good time?" he asked, settling next to her. He could see the pile of gifts over on a side table and wondered at the use of some of them. He'd visited Jason and Emily since the birth of their child, but he hadn't paid much attention to what the kid played with.

"Yeah. It was good to see everyone again and not have to worry about getting jumped by anything." Former Rangers seldom got together in numbers like this unless danger threatened. They would both keep an eye out for any lurking monsters for the next couple of days, just for the sake of safety. Some people might think they were paranoid. These people had never been Power Rangers, or lived in one of the cities where anyone could get jumped by a random monster or grunt.

Tommy nodded, kind of wishing that he could lie next to her as he liked doing. The more she grew, however, the more difficult it became for them to cuddle on the couch. At least there was still room on the bed.

"So, come up with any interesting new names?" Kat peeked at him from underneath her eyelashes, one hand toying with the new pendant around her neck. "Everyone else had a few. Some of them I hadn't even thought of yet."

He managed a smile, leaning backward. "Nothing new yet. But we still have time."

"So how are we going to decide? Roll a dice?" That was just as valid a method of choosing a name as anything else in Kat's opinion. Picking something out of hat sounded good to her too right now. Anything where she didn't have to stress about it ranked high on her choices.

"Let's see what he or she looks like when they're born. That's what mom said they did for me. They weren't thinking of any names when they brought me home. Dad said I just looked like a Tommy."

She glanced toward him, a laugh ghosting around the edges of her lips. "I can't imagine you looking like anyone else."

"You know what?" Tommy grinned back at her. "Neither can I." He leaned his head back and laughed for a moment. "Though if I squint, I could kinda imagine looking like a David."

Kat rolled her eyes and swatted him before she started to lever herself to her feet. "I think I need something to eat. The party food was nice, but it's not going to last all that long." She gave Tommy a sharp look as he started to get up as well. "Don't you even. I'm pregnant, but I can still cook if I want to."

"Yes, dear." Tommy sat back down.

* * *

><p>Scorpina had everything she needed, with the single exception of the actual unborn child and mother. It would still take time to cast the spells, but those couldn't be worked until she had Kat anyway.<p>

**The time is nigh.**

"We don't want to keep her very long. The sooner we get it done, the sooner it can be done before those Rangers turn up." That was how half the plans of other evil warriors and mages had fallen apart. They hadn't taken into account how swiftly the Rangers could react when they needed to. Scorpina refused to fall into that trap.

So, she looked into other spells, ones that would deflect detection and set traps and delays in the way of anyone who came looking for her. She'd bought what she could fairly, and if she needed to steal something, she made certain that no one had any idea that she was the one who stole it. Stealth and secrecy were the order of the day for this plan to work properly.

So far as she knew, she'd succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. She wouldn't know for certain until they actually finished the ritual, but everything looked the way she wanted it to.

_Now that I think about it, this is probably the greatest spell that's ever been cast. Rita would never have thought about doing something like this._ Given that this particular situation hadn't ever happened before, especially during Rita's reign, she wasn't completely certain how much that said, but she still took comfort in the fact that if it had, Rita wouldn't have bothered with it anyway. She would've been more interested in stealing power for herself than restoring it to someone else.

With all of that sorted out, Scorpina knew she had to get to abducting Kat as soon as possible. Which required an actual plan and perhaps even some help. The help would be the hardest part, since that would require money to acquire. Tengas would require time to breed and hatch, and the flocks had gone into hiding recently anyway. Piranatrons were at a premium since Zordon's death, and Quantrons and Cogs needed construction, which would require far more money than she had access to.

If she'd ever acquired Zedd's treasury, she would've had all the money she wanted, but apparently being reformed into a good human didn't mean he lost his memories of where his wealth was stored, or the desire to have it. When she'd managed to locate it and get through the defensive spells, she'd found the treasure stripped clean to the bare rock beneath it. Rita's vault had been much the same. She'd never located Master Vile to find out what happened to him, though she'd heard he'd survived Zordon's purge somehow, just as she had.

He'd probably decided that staying out of the Milky Way was the better idea, given what happened to everyone who'd worked with Dark Spectre before. The thought had occurred to her as well, more than once, but she couldn't do it, not now. Once this plan worked, she'd think about relocating, at least for a while.

**Once I am restored, there will be no need.** Her ally reassured her. Scorpina refused to react to that. She'd survived Zordon's wave because of planning ahead and being out of the galaxy when it happened. She wasn't going to break her habits now.

She turned her thoughts back to acquiring help. There were still mercenaries who might lend her a hand, for the right price. She might not have access to Zedd's old treasury, but she had a few choice items of her own that she was a little reluctant to give up. But if she _did_ win…it would be money well spent.

It was time for a visit to Onyx.

* * *

><p>Kat made herself as comfortable as she could in the backyard seat. Cushioned and plush, with a small footstool at just the right height for her, she considered this the best place for relaxation as the long days of her pregnancy ticked themselves by. She ran one hand over her stomach, awe filling her that it wouldn't take much longer before this was all over.<p>

_Another week._ There still wasn't any way to be absolutely certain of when the child would be born, but her due date was the next week, and her doctor told her to keep a cell phone near her at all times, just in case. Not only did she do that, but she kept her communicator on at all times as well. Billy made them waterproof these days, and the general rule of thumb among ex-Rangers was 'better safe than sorry'. No villain had yet attacked while they were in the shower, but there was always the first time.

If she were in the professional villain business, she was certain she would attack during showers. And at night. And any other time when her enemies couldn't fight back properly. She'd discussed this with other people who'd spent time on the other side, and they all agreed that for the most part, their enemies weren't as good at being evil as they should've been. And no one wanted to complain about that.

She tilted her head back and relaxed under the warm summer sun. She hadn't spent as much time as she would've liked outside like this since finding out about the impending child, but now looked like a good time to fix that. Tommy would be staying at work late tonight, thanks to some parent-teacher conferences, and he'd promised to pick up dinner on the way home, so neither of them had to cook. She'd protested, just a little, but her heart hadn't been in it. Today felt more like a day to just laze around and get caught up on her reading as opposed to doing anything more strenuous than sweeping the floor.

Kat hadn't turned more than half a dozen pages in her current novel before a far too familiar beeping began to echo from inside the house. She sat up, eyes narrowed.

_Why is the intruder alert going off?_ No one could get into the underground base, not without being linked into the security system. They'd all made certain of that. Only someone whose DNA matched the proper parameters could get in there.

For that matter, it dawned on her that the alarm wasn't the one for the base. It was the one for the house and grounds. Kat started to scramble to her feet, when a voice she'd heard only a few times, and those all in recordings, spoke.

"Don't stress yourself, my dear. It's bad for the baby."

Kat whirled around, folding her book closed and slamming it toward the new arrival with all of her strength. "Like you care what's bad for me or my baby, Scorpina."

"Oh, but I do." Getting hit upside the head with a book, even one as thick as what Kat had, didn't seem to bother the warrior woman at all. Kat decided her helmet had protected her and made up her mind to get it off before hitting her there again. Scorpina smiled as she moved closer. "You and your baby are exactly what I care about right now."

There were few words Kat had ever heard that sent such a chill down her spine. She didn't stop to think about what Scorpina could've meant; she didn't care about what Scorpina meant. There weren't any proper weapons out here and she decided right away that needed to change. Since redecorating wasn't an option right now, she hoped she could outrun the evil warrior and get inside to where she could get to her blaster.

_Why didn't I bring that with me?_ She swore visciously to herself even as she started to move. The door inside wasn't that far away; she thought she could make it. She'd kept hold of her book even after smacking Scorpina with it and if hitting her against the head didn't work, then maybe a good smack directly to her face would.

She'd scarcely taken three steps before slamming hard into a tall armored body that wasn't Scorpina. Whoever it was stood much taller than she did, and Kat caught her breath even as the other caught her wrists, holding them tightly.

"Keep a good grip on her, but don't hurt her." Scorpina said from behind, reaching over to pluck the book out of Kat's hands and toss it to the side.

Kat strained as hard as she could to get away but to no avail. Scorpina's thug's grip tightened almost to the point of breaking her wrists. She grit her teeth, refusing to give either of them the satisfaction of hearing her in pain.

"Where'd you pick up the new friend?" So far as Kat knew, Goldar had fallen into dust during Zordon's purge, while Finster had moved to a distant planet and started his life over, this time using his sculpting talent for art instead of mayhem. No one had seen Squatt or Baboo since the invasion. Not that very many people would've missed them in the first place. So Scorpina had to have hired this one from somewhere.

"Onyx, actually. You'd be surprised at who might still be willing to work for the right price." Scorpina looked Kat up and down, then glanced toward her thug. "Let's go. Tommy could be back any second and we don't need him knowing we were here."

The thug said nothing at all, but a heartbeat later, Kat could feel the energy of teleportation wrapping all around her, and the world went dark.

* * *

><p>The moment he heard the alarm coming from his bag, Tommy stood up. "We're going to have to finish this another time," he told the parents he was currently talking to. "Something just came up." He didn't wait around another moment, but hurried to the office where Elsa stood talking to one of the other teachers. "Something's up at home."<p>

He'd scarcely said the words before the principal nodded, granting permission for him to leave. She knew he wouldn't ask if something wasn't dreadfully wrong, and the alarm that he heard said clear as anything that something _was_ dreadfully wrong, especially when it continued for more than five minutes. If it had stopped, he would've just called Kat to see what was going on, since she would've turned it off. As it was…

As it was, something was not right and he had to get home.

Even as he drove, he pulled his cell phone out and dialed Kat's, thick and heavy tension rocking all through him. Five rings and no answer, and his heart twisted. Something was _not right_ and he sped up.

The alarms took only a moment to turn off once he got home and he took a quick check around to see if he could find Kat. All that he could see was the book he knew she'd been reading, tossed to one side in the back yard. That wasn't like Kat at all. Her cell phone sat on the table beside where she usually rested as well, and that only made matters worse for him.

He hurried to the underground chamber and reran the security tapes. Billy had made certain they recorded constantly, unless he or Kat in particular turned them off. He breathed a bit of a relieved sigh to find out that Kat hadn't done so: relief that turned to raw fury when he saw what happened.

"Scorpina." He wasn't surprised to find her alive. She was the type of person who would turn up after a few centuries no matter what happened.

He sent a message out, one set to go to the Astro Rangers and to as many of their close friends as possible. He didn't know where Scorpina had taken Kat, but that was only a minor difficulty, one he could easily solve.

* * *

><p>Kat groaned, lifting up one hand to try to touch her aching head. Her arm only rose a little ways before stopping short and she realized after a few seconds that chains held her down. She blinked at them, then frowned, memory surging back through her.<p>

"Where am I? Scorpina?" Part of her could not help but be relieved to see her stomach as round as ever, given what Scorpina had said before they left Earth. Even without understanding it, she knew it couldn't bode well at all.

"Be quiet." Scorpina stepped out of the shadows, holding something in her hands that Kat couldn't see very well. The aura of evil that dripped from it told her she didn't want to.

**Welcome, former Power Ranger.** The voice wasn't one that she'd heard before but it twisted into her mind, digging into parts of her that she'd hoped vanished years ago. **I am Dark Spectre: what remains of him, at least.**

Kat paled, straining harder at the chains in the hopes of a miracle happening. She'd never seen Dark Spectre before, but Karone's tales had been more than enough to know she didn't want to.

"There isn't much left of him, sad to say." Scorpina stroked what Kat could now see was a hideous, oozing chunk of _something_. "Thanks to Darkonda, he's going to have to start over from scratch."

Kat's breath locked in her throat. They _couldn't_ mean…

From the way Scorpina smirked at her, that was exactly what they did mean.

"No." Kat shook her head. She would not allow this to happen. She would fight until the last bit of breath in her body to stop it.

Scorpina moved to one side. "It won't be that difficult to accomplish. We have everything that we need and there's no way that anyone will find us before the ritual is complete. So just relax and let us take care of everything."

"If you think I'm actually going to let you do this, you're insane!" Kat spat, straining against her bonds even harder. There had to be something she could do to get out of here. Something that would stop all of this from happening.

Scorpina paid no attention to her at all now, setting the piece of Dark Spectre down on a nearby table and looking through a large book, murmuring words under her breath that Kat couldn't hear very well.

_What can I do?_ She refused to just let this happen. But no matter how hard she tried, the chains didn't give an inch. _If I could still turn into a cat…_

She hadn't thought about those days in years but the memories were clear now. Agile, strong, able to fit into places where her human self never could…

Warmth glowed around her neck and she had just enough time to realize it was the charm Rita had given her before everything _grew_ around her and she found herself sliding downwards. It took her a few seconds to reorient herself, and even then, moving wasn't as easy as she'd remembered it. Even as a cat, it seemed, she was pregnant, and she spared only a few seconds to think about how this might affect her child. Whatever Scorpina wanted to do would be a thousand times worse, and now at least she had a chance to get out of there and find a way to contact Tommy or Andros or someone who could get her out of here.

"And now…" Scorpina turned toward where Kat had been and for the first few seconds, her mouth hung open and one hand was raised in a dramatic pose. Then her eyes narrowed and she snapped, "Where did she go?"

Kat didn't wait around for Scorpina to find her. Instead, she darted as far from the golden-armored warrior as she could, trying to get the hang of moving on all fours once again, and searching for a door out of the room. She could see legs, ones that had to be Scorpina's and another set that belonged to her goon. She'd never managed a good look at the goon's face, since he, she, or it bore a smooth-faced mask that concealed all of their features. At the moment, Kat wasn't especially interested in what they looked like, either. Getting out filled her every desire.

"Catch her!" Scorpina's voice rang out from above, and Kat scrambled even harder toward a dark area that could have been a door. If she'd had the time to get used to using a cat's senses again, much less how to manage herself like this, she might've had a better chance of escaping. She did all that she could, though, darting this way and that while still aiming for that one particular area.

Smooth armored hands wrapped around her and she yowled, slashing with her claws as hard as she could. The one who held her said nothing at all, but carried her back toward the table where Scorpina stood, eyes bright with fury.

"I'd forgotten about that little trick of yours. I didn't think you could still do it." Scorpina stared at her intently, then reached out one clawed finger to the pendant that still hung around her neck. "Why didn't I see this before…Rita's work."

Kat swiped at her, but Scorpina paid no attention, getting a firm grip on the pendant's chain and starting to pull on it. Kat tensed, expecting it to snap at once. Instead, the chain stretched until Scorpina dropped it, acting more like spandex than gold.

"I see. Definitely Rita's work there. You're the only one who can take it off, and I know you're not going to." Scorpina stared down at her, and Kat made up her mind that once she was out of this, she would invite Rita to the most expensive restaurant in Reefside that she could afford as thanks for this. "Well, it won't change anything in the long run. Dark Spectre can change his form to whatever he wishes once he's in his new body."

That didn't make Kat feel any better about the situation at all. She stayed in her feline form; changing back would only disorient her even more, and that was the last thing she wanted right now. Besides, maybe it _would_ stop Scorpina from doing this. She didn't know and she thought it was worth trying to find out.

"Will the spell need altering because of this?" Scorpina addressed the chunk of Dark Spectre where it sat radiating evil. Kat could not imagine staying anywhere close to that for the next few days. It made her sick just to think about being there right now.

**Not very much, as her soul is still that of a human. Magic such as this cares nothing for the outer form.**

That really didn't help Kat feel any better about all of this. She flexed her claws, waiting for Scorpina's hireling to put her down so she would have another chance to get out of there, one she'd do better at this time.

The hireling did nothing of the kind, but remained holding her as if unable to do anything else. Scorpina paid no attention to it, turning back to the spell and going over various small details on it. Kat wriggled, but to no avail. The way the hireling held her kept her from getting down, but wasn't painful at all. She might've preferred pain. It would've been something she expected from someone like this.

* * *

><p>"I've heard a couple of rumors from Onyx that Scorpina was there not that long ago." Andros told the group gathered on the Megaship's bridge. Tommy, Jason, Kim, Billy, Adam, Rocky, Rita, Zedd, Aisha, Tanya, and the other Astro Rangers all waited to hear what else he had to say. "She was in the market for some kind of a henchman. I didn't pay any attention to it at the time since it's not that uncommon for people to look for warriors there."<p>

Various nods came from almost everyone. Tommy remained tense against the farthest wall.

"Do they know where she's at?" Dark rage colored his voice and Jason reached over to squeeze his friend's shoulder reassuringly.

"Yes. She went to a lot of trouble to keep most people from following her, but if you know where to look, there's almost always someone who knows something." Andros didn't precisely meet anyone's eyes as he spoke. Tommy didn't care if he were getting the information from Goldar's long departed soul, so long as it meant they could find Kat before Scorpina could do whatever it was that she had in mind.

"So where is it?"

A star chart appeared behind Andros, one area glowing. "Here. It's an asteroid belt, not a planet, so it's very well protected from most ships trying to come through the area. It will take us about three days to get there, even with the MegaShip going at its fastest."

The sound of Tommy's teeth grinding echoed throughout the bridge. Andros turned kind eyes on the former Ranger. "If we go any faster, we risk Scorpina's security system picking us up and she could leave, taking Kat with her. This is our best option."

Tommy nodded, but every feature of his face said he didn't like the information. None of them did. No one knew what Scorpina had in mind, but the thought of anyone being in her clutches for three days was more than enough to give them all nightmares.

"Let's get going."

* * *

><p>Kat wasn't sure how long she'd been here, only that the time stretched out interminably. It seemed she'd only been needed on the table for the initial spellcasting, and the actual infusion of Dark Spectre's essence with her baby wouldn't take place until the actual birth of her child. She'd woken up screaming more than once because of that.<p>

She'd spent most of her time after Scorpina finished the casting caged up. She had room to move around, and all the proper facilities and nourishment were provided. She still hated it. She still refused to change back into her human form. She could do that much to defy her captor, if nothing more.

Something shifted inside of her, a slight tightening of her muscles more than anything else. Kat tensed; she did not want to think about what that was. She remembered what Scorpina'd said before.

_Once the child is born…_

No. She would find a way out of here, no matter what. That wouldn't happen. She wouldn't _let_ it happen.

Footsteps sounded; Scorpina's minion. She still hadn't heard Scorpina address them by any kind of name, nor did they speak a single word. But Kat knew the sound of their footsteps now, since they brought her food and water and let her roam around a little, in a carefully sealed up room. Scorpina wanted her healthy, at least until afterwards.

This time, however, instead of opening the cage, the minion lifted it and carried her to the room she'd first woken up in. Scorpina stood there, Dark Spectre's piece beside her as usual, and the most unholy of smiles wreathing her features.

"It's started."

Kat didn't need any further explanations. She only winced and flexed her claws more, and hoped for an answer she couldn't yet see.

* * *

><p>"There it is." Andros gestured to the asteroid belt now visible ahead of them. Most of them looked much like all of the others, but one shimmered a pale gold, thanks to DECA. "That's the one we've picked up life signs from. Only three of them so far."<p>

Tommy nodded; three would be Kat, Scorpina, and Scorpina's henchworker. So the child hadn't been born yet… he hoped. There were other options that he didn't let himself think about.

"We can teleport in there, but teleporting Kat out is going to be a problem. Scorpina has a shield up so we can't just yank her out right now, and even if we could, it's risky to teleport someone who is pregnant." Ashley reported from her station. "Especially when we don't know what Scorpina might've already done."

From the way Tommy paled, everyone wished Ashley hadn't said anything about that. But he said nothing, only ground his teeth a little more.

"We'll get the Megaship down close enough for you to bring her out," T.J. threw in. "Shouldn't take too long."

"Come on, then." Andros headed out; he'd provided all of the former Rangers with blasters. He suspected Tommy would've welcomed a tactical missile of any kind if it helped to get his wife out of there. Unfortunately, tactical missiles were not only difficult to come by, but wouldn't have left much of Kat to rescue in the first place.

* * *

><p>Finding their way through the stone corridors wasn't easy. It would've been worse without Rita there; she and Zedd had worked hard to recover access to their magic in the years since Zordon cleansed them of evil, and only recently had they begun to achieve any proper skill in it again. Granted, it was good magic, as opposed to the evil they'd worked before, so for all intents and purposes they were starting from scratch anyway.<p>

"How are you doing this?" Tanya murmured, her blaster held firmly in one hand as the group searched. "Wouldn't you need…I don't know, something of Kat's for this?"

"Normally. But Kat has something that I made for her, and that works just as well." Rita stared down into the crystal held between her fingers and pointed which way they were to go, following the small spark of light reflected from nowhere that glowed within it. "We're almost there."

Tommy gripped his blaster even harder, glad that the weapons were made to stand up to much harder pressure than even he could give at the moment. He'd done his best to memorize the way in so they could get Kat out faster. She was getting close to her due date and the last place he wanted their child born was a place like this.

"It's started." The voice wasn't Kat. It wasn't any of theirs. But enough of them recognized it that the whole group hurried along, ready to take back the one stolen from them.

* * *

><p>Kat breathed harder, tensing in every muscle. She could feel the movements inside of her and she wasn't really worried about the birth itself. Scorpina's spellworkings worried her, as did the growing presence of Dark Spectre. It still came from that one chunk of flesh and not inside of her, which was a small blessing, but one she welcomed while it lasted.<p>

Scorpina began to chant in a language Kat didn't understand, and the designs drawn around her began to glow a dark, sooty shade of orange. Kat hissed, her back rising upward, her claws scraping against the bottom of the table where she was once again chained, this time by her four paws and a collar around her neck. She had room to lay down if she wanted, but she kept herself from doing so. Any defiance, no matter how small, was one she would cling to.

**There is no need to fight, human. This will all end soon.**

That was exactly what she didn't want.

Noise came from outside, and under other circumstances, Kat might've written it off as nothing to fret over. But now, stressed out, furious, and in the first stages of labor, along with a cat's much more sensitive nose and hearing, she focused on it without thinking.

She knew that scent…_those_ scents. One and all she knew them, and her heart soared with delight. She didn't stop to think, but shifted back to human, ignoring the confusion that rippled through her for the first few seconds.

"Tommy!" He was there! They were there!

Her chains had moved and shifted with her, but a sudden blaster shot shattered them off her. She wriggled to her feet, stumbling as a sharp pain moved through her, and did her best to stand back up properly.

"Kat!" Tommy rushed in, followed by a small army of Rangers and ex-Rangers, most of whom kept their attention on Scorpina and her henchman. "Come on, we're getting you out of here." He didn't even spare a look for the other two, but started to hurry her along.

"No!" Scorpina's furious cry cracked through the air. "I'm not going to let you interfere with Dark Spectre's rebirth!"

Utter silence reigned. Karone was the one to break it. "I think that's something we're going to interfere in whether you let us or not."

"Also, if that's him? He has _really_ gone downhill from the last time we saw him." Zhane added.

Kat paid no more attention to whatever else they had in mind, but walked with Tommy toward the exit. Scorpina screeched even harder, more so than Rita ever had at her worst, and sliced one hand toward her, Kat catching the movement out of the corner of one eye. A beam of crystal blue light shot toward Kat, too quickly for any of them to stop, striking her hard on the side. Kat gasped, leaning closer into Tommy, tensed more and waiting for whatever was to happen…

"What went wrong?" Scorpina murmured, brow furrowed in confusion. "That should've finished the spell." She looked from Kat to Dark Spectre, then toward Rita as the former evil sorceress laughed.

"My amulet, Scorpina. I've always been better than you at magic. She'll always be protected from whatever you're trying." Rita waved one hand at Tommy. "Get her out of here. We'll finish this."

Neither Tommy nor Kat argued about that, hurrying through the twisting corridors until they reached where the Megaship rested. Kat could hardly move very well by the time they got inside, and Tommy took her right to the medical bay.

Ashley and Zedd followed them only a few steps behind; Tommy didn't ask why, so long as they could do something to help. Apparently they could, as they got her settled down, and started preparing for a birth. Tommy stayed by Kat's side, keeping one hand in his, a small whisper in his mind telling him if he looked away for so much as a second, she'd vanish again.

He didn't look away and she didn't vanish, and by the clock on the Megaship and his own watch, it was the deepest part of the night when Ashley brought a small wrapped bundle up to the two of them.

"Kat, Tommy, meet your daughter." The Yellow Astro Ranger spoke softly. "Zedd's given her a clean bill of health so far as magic is concerned, and DECA agrees that physically, she's absolutely fine. And so are you, Kat."

Kat and Tommy both looked down at the bundle, which stared back at them with large infant-blue eyes. A few streaks of hair, still damp from being born and color uncertain for the same reason, poked out from the blanket. Kat took a deep breath and leaned back on the pillows behind her.

"So, what should we call her?"

Tommy considered it for a few moments. They'd made so many lists and tried so many options. While caught up in the birth, Kat managed to tell him what had happened, mostly to keep her mind off what was going on at that moment. There was so much he wanted to ask her about that, and Rita as well, but for now, one small part of it caught at his attention and offered a suggestion.

"What do you think of Caitlin?"

"Caitlin." Kat tasted the name. "Caitlin Hillard-Oliver." A small smile touched her tired face. "I like it."

"Yeah, me too." Tommy agreed, leaning over to kiss Kat softly. "And I bet she's going to have a lot of adventures ahead of her."

Kat chuckled at that. "Kind of hard to beat the one she started out with, though."

"I bet she'll try." Tommy started to settle back down, when he looked over at Caitlin, whose wide eyes turned this way and that as she took in the world around her.

Wide eyes, that for a single moment became the green and slitted eyes of a cat. Tommy jerked in surprise, a word falling from hi slips that had Kat giving him a sharp look, before she saw it too.

"What in the…" Tommy got to his feet and leaned out the door. "Hey, Zedd, I thought you said she had a clean bill of health for magic!"

Their former enemy stepped back into the room, confused. "What do you mean? She does. There's not a trace of evil magic in or around her."

Kat kept her attention on their daughter. "Her eyes. They've changed back, but they looked…like a cat's eyes, just for a few moments."

Zedd frowned, a ripple of concentration forming on his forehead before he whispered a few words under his breath. Then he relaxed, a small hint of amusement flickering over his features. "There isn't any evil magic there. However, I think the best way to say this might be…congratulations. It's a werecat."

The two stared at each other, then at him. "Werecat?" Kat said it first, not sure of what else to ask. Tommy looked as confused as she was.

"It's likely because of how you changed while in there. Rita's amulet sparked the old spell on you, and because Caitlin was a part of you when you changed, she did as well. And it stuck for her." Zedd did his best to explain. "This isn't something that's happened very often, and it might be something she grows out of."

Kat nodded, too tired to argue or even be upset by it at the moment. Tommy felt much the same, trying to stay awake despite how exhausted he was. He'd not closed his eyes for more than a few minutes during all the time they'd searched for Kat. His will didn't last forever, though, nor did hers. Soon enough, Kat, Tommy, and Caitlin all slept, one family together.

**The End**


End file.
